Spicy Vegetarian Chili

This is a new version of the Best Vegetarian Chili and it may be even better than the original. You could make it in the crock pot or on the stove – either way, it’s delish!

Start with these ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pepper, any color, chopped
• 1 large sweet potato (or regular potato), chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (15.5 oz) spicy black beans
• 3 Tbsp quinoa, any color
• 1/4 cup lentils, any color
• 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 can Muir Glen diced tomatoes – Fire roasted with medium green chilis
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 packet vegetarian chili seasoning mix
• water
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Then get down to business:

1. Put a bit (maybe a Tbsp) of olive oil in a large soup pan and heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Let cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the chopped pepper, carrots, jalapeno and sweet potato to the pot.
3. Add the two cans of tomatoes and stir well. Fill one of the cans with water and add that as well.
4. Rinse the spicy black beans just a bit and add them to the mixture. Add the quinoa and lentils.
5. Next add the can of tomato paste and stir well.  Tomato paste can be sticky so make sure to get it distributed throughout the mixture.
6. Toss in the chili seasoning mix.
7. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
8. Add the cup of frozen corn, stir, and simmer for another 15 minutes.
9. Top with shredded cheese and enjoy.

You could easily make this in the crock pot – just omit the olive oil at the beginning and pile everything in the crock pot, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, adding the corn in just about 15 minutes before you’re ready to eat.

What’s great about this chili is that it’s so flexible – I’ve added or omitted vegetables depending on what I have on hand and I’ve used sprouted legumes or chickpeas instead of lentils. Any version is great!

Lentil and Kale Slowcooker Soup

I decided I should eat more greens. So that means a refrigerator full of kale and no clue what to do with it. I added some to a salad, but the greens are a bit tough to be the base of your salad. So I did some googling and found a great recipe for lentil and kale soup. I changed it up a little bit and ended up with this. I put  my crockpot to use and arrived home to wonderfully smelling house and a nearly finished dinner. Sounds perfect to me!

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 potato, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Add the carrots, celery, onion, potato, garlic, lentils, vegetable broth, and thyme to the slow cooker. Stir, mixing well. Set on low for all day cooking or high for half day.

About 20 minutes before you plan to eat, add in the chopped kale, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper, if you’d like.

Stir in the kale and let cook for another 20 minutes. Serve up a heaping bowl and enjoy!