Jim’s Tasty (you can’t believe it is vegetarian) Chili

Jim and Mary Vlazny share their favorite vegetarian chili recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• ½ medium onion chopped (if you like onion go a large one)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons dried ground oregano

• 1 tablespoon salt (personally I do not think this is needed at all.  Depends if you want lower salt)

• 2 stalks of celery, chopped

• 2 green bell peppers, chopped (I used one green and one red for color)

• 2 cups of skinned, de-seeded and chopped zucchini

• 1 pound of white mushrooms, quartered (drawn and quartered is the cooks call)

• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic chopped (or jarred minced garlic, see jar for clove equivalent)

• 2 (4 ounce) cans of chopped green chilies peppers (I went un-drained)

• ¼ cup of diced fresh cilantro

• 10 to 20 dashes of green pepper sauce (made by Tabasco.  Great flavor and it is not hot)

• 1 to 2 (12 ounce) packages of vegetarian burger crumbles (depends on how much of a meat look you want)

• 3 (28 ounce) caned whole peeled tomatoes, crushed (yep, all 3, definitely use the “crushed” not “diced”)

• 1 tablespoon of chili powder (use what you like here, I used the mild and thought it was good)

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 (15 ounce) can of kidney beans, drained

• 1 (15 ounce) can of garbanzo beans, drained

• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, drained

• 1 (15 ounce) can of kernel corn, drained

Preparation:

In a large pot, heat the olive oil.  Stir in the onions, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt.  Cook until the onions are tender, then mix in the celery, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, garlic, green chilies, cilantro, and green pepper sauce.  When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles.  Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 5 minutes.  Mix the crushed tomatoes into the pot.  Season the mixture with the chili powder and ground black pepper.  Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans and black beans.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.  After that add the corn and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Serve in bowls.  Garnish with chopped onions, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream as you like!

Alternate Preparation (if you like to take it to share, or use the next day):

Follow the first paragraph above (I did it in a large wok pan).  Once you are done simmering for 5 minutes, move the contents to a large crock pot (at least a 5 quarter, 6 would be better).  Turn the crock to high.  Mix the crushed tomatoes into the crock, season the mixture with the chili powder and ground black pepper.  Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, and corn.  After 30 minutes, turn to low and let slow cook for 4 to 6 hours. After cooking, shut off the crock, allow the crock to cool, then refrigerate overnight.  Bring crock to room temperature, and cook on High, for 2.5 to 3 hours.  I found that this “melding process” mellowed and mingled the flavors better, and the chili was not as harsh, but still very Tasty!

Servings:  Makes 8 to 10 servings