Chunky Vegetarian Chili

Health nuts seem to agree - striving for "Meatless Mondays" is where it's at. I know plenty of people who take pride in their meatless meals, and who actually take this on, as a huge challenge. For me, it's a little different. I love cooking vegetarian meals, and we are meatless for several evenings a week. My kids love beans and vegetables, and Kevin and I love the complexity of flavors that come with vegetarian meals. In my world, meat is boring.

So, here is a vegetarian chili that has several things going for it. First and foremost, it's easy peasy. So many of the ingredients come out of cans, and you can swap them out for things that you already have in the pantry, if you don't have everything handy. Also, this is a one pot meal. Don't you just love it, when you only have one pot to clean? And lastly, the flavors in this chili are mild, but really lovely and perfectly tasty. I would definitely say that it's a tad more sweet than it is spicy, and that's always disconcerting to me at first, when it comes to chili, but in the end, this dish is a keeper. It makes a ton, too, so get ready for some lunchy leftovers!







Chunky Vegetarian Chili

This vegetarian chili recipe a great way to get kids to eat fiber-rich foods. It can be taken on camping trips, and in school lunches in a thermos.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)


1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

CALORIES 257 (9% from fat); FAT 2.7g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.5g,poly 1.2g); IRON 4.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 150mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.8g; SODIUM 876mg; PROTEIN 12.8g; FIBER 14.2g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003

Thai Veggie Chili

I hesitate to call this a chili, because it is clearly a stew, but whatever...

When I tried this chili, my first reaction was, "Wow, this tastes really unique. The flavors are so different, considering a lot of the ingredients are the same ones I use all the time."

Kevin's first reaction was, "This tastes sort of generic. I mean, it tastes similar to a lot of things you make."

Hmph. Really? Were we eating the same thing?

Anyway, we both loved it. Well, actually, all four of us loved it, with the ultimate winner being Jonah, who couldn't tear himself away from it. I took this recipe from the the author of Veganomicon, who adapted it from an "Eating Clean Magazine" recipe. I really liked this dinner. It has a sweet and spicy flavor, with a really nice, subtle coconut curry undertone. It's a nice, thick stew, and it went beautifully over a bowl of brown rice. I will definitely be making this again. Soon.







This is a vegetarian hot pot of yums. Make it. 4 Bowls.

Red Lentil Thai Chili

Olive oil (1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, however much you feel like using)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 15 oz can lowfat coconut milk
28 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Limes for garnish (optional)

Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute onions and pepper in oil with a pinch of salt, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more.

Add chili powder, sweet potatoes, lentils, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Taste for salt and seasoning, top with cilantro and lime and serve!

Terrific Turkey (or Chicken) Chili

I know. I've posted a LOT of chili recipes. Don't worry. I'm sure I'll post more. Seriously, I love a good chili recipe, and now that I'm obsessed with Penzey's spices, I am constantly buying new spices, and finding chili recipes where I can use them. So, this past week I paid 2 visits to Penzey's, and left with their Taco Seasoning, Chili Con Carne seasoning, and Coriander. Then, I found this chili recipe on allrecipes, and since it boasted so many excellent reviews, I decided it must be worth a go. I absolutely loved this one. It has terrific flavor, it was super easy to make, and it was really hearty and healthy. I made a lot of modifications, but it was nothing major. This will definitely go into my arsenal of chili recipes. I hadn't made Mexican food in a while, and this was so good, I am now on an official chili kick. Mmmmmmm.



Make this. It's some darn good chili. 4.5 Bowls. At least.

Terrific Turkey Chili

Serves 6, and takes about an hour.

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
* 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I used ground chicken - only a pound)
* 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix (I just measured my own)
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth (I used chicken)
* 1 (7 ounce) can salsa
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
* 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced (I skipped this)
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped
* 1 cup sour cream (skipped!)
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (skipped!)
* Can of chickpeas (I added this, since I didn't have enough ground meat, or zucchini)
Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with taco seasoning mix, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
2. Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.
3. While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.
4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the zucchini to the chili, reduce heat, and continue cooking 15 minutes more. Again, adjust the consistency with water as needed.
5. Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.

Pumpkin-Turkey Chili

Didn't I just say, about a week ago, that I would never need another chili recipe, because I had found chili perfection? Well, I guess I lied. I came across this "Pumpkin Chili" recipe, and I was intrigued. In case you didn't know, there was a pretty intense pumpkin shortage last year, and there hasn't been canned pumpkin in the supermarket in close to a year. Just a couple of weeks ago, it finally reappeared in stores, and I stocked up. Yes, I have 10 cans in my basement. Anyway, I've been using it in everything, and I got very excited to use it in our dinner last night. After reading the hundreds of comments about the chili, I adapted the recipe, according to what I thought my family would like. The end result was a really good, solid dish, that my family liked. It was not exceptional, particularly special, or very unique, but it was easy and tasty. I couldn't quite imagine what kind of difference the pumpkin would make, but it was actually a really fun and healthy addition. It adds a very subtle sweetness, and makes for a nice, thick textured chili. The thing is, if you like a salty and spicy chili, that also has that underlying sweetness, you have to doctor the recipe. Anyway, Kevin's first comment about this dish was, "Wow, this is sort of bland, but I like it." Hmmmm. I didn't think it was bland at all, and I liked it too, but I still think the other chili recipe was a little more to my liking.



Maybe you should try this.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (I used red)
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I used Rotel, to make it spicy)
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dash salt
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I didn't use this)
1/2 cup sour cream (or this)

I added:
A can of black beans
A cup of frozen corn
A tsp of cumin

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Black Bean - Salsa Chli

I've made a lot of chili recipes in the past few years. A lot. They are always vegetarian, full of beans, and easy. I always like them, but I never love them. This recipe comes from Cooking Light, and it's not vegetarian. It calls for ground turkey and smoked bacon, which I omitted from the recipe, because I can't bring myself to get on the bacon wagon. Anyway, this is easy, much like my other chili recipes, only this one is about one thousand times more delicious. Now, I think adding bacon, would have added a smokey saltiness that I would have adored, but we are not pork eaters, so I skipped it. Instead, I added a new Penzey's spice, called "Arizona Dreaming," which is a Mexican inspired blend, that has a nice smoky bite. The end result was a really high flavor, yet mildly spicy chili. It was thick and meaty, with a perfect amount of beans. This was the first time I've tried eating a chili with meat, and now I know what all the fuss is about. It lends such a nice texture to the dish. This was a great, low fat dinner, served over brown rice. It will be a great dish to serve for casual dinner guests in the Fall and Winter (well, at those who we know like chili), and I can easily whip it up for my family at the drop of a hat. Winner!

Black Bean-Salsa Chili

(Adapted from Cooking Light - See mods in italics)

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup chili and about 4 teaspoons sour cream mixture)


2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
Cooking spray
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices, chopped (skipped it!)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups mild salsa
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth (I used chicken broth)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I didn't make the sauce, so I skipped the last 3 ingredients)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups beans, 2/3 cup water, and sugar in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine bean puree and remaining beans in a bowl.

2. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove turkey from pan.

3. Add onion, bell peppers, and bacon to pan; cook 5 minutes or until bacon and onion are lightly browned. Return turkey to pan. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and crushed red pepper to pan; stir well to coat. Stir in bean mixture, salsa, tomato paste, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Combine sour cream, cilantro, and juice in a small bowl. Serve chili with sour cream mixture.

CALORIES 199 ; FAT 6.2g (sat 2.6g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 88mg; CARBOHYDRATE 22g; SODIUM 740mg; PROTEIN 14.8g; FIBER 5.9g; IRON 2.6mg

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2009

White Chili.

The idea of "White Chili" sort of skeeves me out, though I have no idea why. I have made so many chili recipes in the past year though, all of them have been... okay. This one came from an old school issue of Cooking Light, and for some reason, it really spoke to me. It was also easy to make, although it called for a 19 oz can of cannellini beans, which is a size that I don't think really exists. Anyway, I modified it by using the hot sauce I had in the house (red, not green), and by omitting the yogurt and lime wedges. The result was a deliciously spicy, hearty, and filling dinner. I served the chili over rice, though the recipe says you should serve it with homemade cornbread. It reheated very well, too, so bring on the leftovers!

Want the recipe? Click here.


CRITIQUE

This white chili was GREAT! It had such flavor in your mouth that it makes you say, "that's some tasty food" and you want to continue eating and swallowing. You feel like you're eating something healthy but surprisingly yummy. Marji's soupy meals really maximize this delicate combination. It's been a few days since I ate this meal, and in thinking back on it, it's making me want to go eat some of it. That's usually a good indicator of a 5-bowler but now that I think about it, I remember giving it 4 bowls of soup.