Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

After I wrote about wanting to make vegan veggie burgers, my husband vetoed the idea. I feel like Kermit the frog from Sesame Street: “it is not easy being green.”  

So, this morning was one of those mornings. Nothing to eat and nothing prepared.

I cooked broccoli in the microwave. This is one of my favorite ways to cook vegetables if needed in small batches. I cut the vegetables up relatively small and uniformed in size, add some water and cook it using the preset “cook vegetables” program on my microwave. 

They come out great and I have only one glass bowl and lid to wash.

Then, my husband requested vegetarian chili. I haven’t made it in years and I did not presoak the beans. So, this is an experiment.  

Prep time for both was about ½ hour.

Ingredients

1 onion chopped

1 pepper, chopped

2 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 lbs. kidney beans (about 2 ½ cups)

I couldn’t find the chili powder so I improvised : 3 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoons oregano

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

5 cups water to cover, approximately

Fresh garlic crushed, and hot pepper flakes to taste.

Bulgur or cooked quinoa to thicken and give a “meatier” texture, near the end.

Instructions

Cut vegetables and place all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low.

Adjust seasoning and add cooked quinoa or bulgur once cooked to absorb liquid and thicken to desired texture.

Here is the picture before cooked:

  

Here is the final product. It came out great! I added bulgar at the end to thicken it, but, my husband is not sure if he likes it. He recommends adding cilantro.