Veggie Chili
Homemade Veggie Chili
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- chili powder to taste
- cumin seed to taste ( I use freshly ground cumin seeds for maximun taste)
- oregano (to taste)
- chili flakes (to taste)
- bell peppers, diced (I used red peppers)
- carrots, diced (I used shredded carrots)
- celery stalks, diced
- whole tomatoes and their juice (I used peeled, seedless canned tomatoes. I forgot to use my hands to roughly crush the tomatoes. Ooops.)
- beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto, kidney and white beans)
- corn (optional)
- Salt, to taste
- Homemade pepper blend, to taste
- Optional toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, diced avocados or green onion.
Note: the original recipe includes corn. The last time I made this recipe, I added corn. This time I did not. It's yummy either way. If I add corn the next time, I'll use roasted corn for added taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and chili flakes and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add the peppers, carrots, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to soften. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer. Once the chili begins to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low. You want the chili to be at a low simmer with the lid off.
- Continue to cook the chili, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add beans and corn and let the chili return to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes or until the corn and beans have heated through.
- Generously salt to taste.
- Serve on its own or topped with one (or all!) of the delicious toppings. Enjoy!
Notes:
- I did not add specific quantities because I like to vary the amount of ingredients each time I make this recipe. Because I was in a time-cruch yesterday, I used 3 cans of beans (white kidney, red kidney, & pinto). However,most of the time, I prefer to pre-soak and cook beans. If you would like to view the quantities used in the original recipe, please see: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/easy-vegetarian-chili-recipe/
- We like to eat veggie chili with organic blue corn chips for additional nutritional value.
- Carrots, are excellent blood purifiers. You can read more about root vegetables here.