Vegetarian Chili

Both of my bosses love turkey chili. I do mean love--I could probably make it almost every night and they would be happy. When I made the pasta sauce last week, I am pretty sure my boss thought I was making chili, but, sadly, I was not.

To make it up to them I decided today felt like a chili day. For some reason winter seems to be making a small appearance, pretty sure I saw a few snowflakes this morning when we were grocery shopping. Maybe 3, maybe 4--nothing to get excited about, but, definitely chili weather.

Mondays are our grocery shopping day, which always takes much longer than it should with two stores to visit and a little one in tow. I try to make something quick and easy, then, so I can have 5 minutes to sit and breathe when little one takes a nap.

I think I have adapted turkey chili into veggie chili for Josh and I at least once before today. It's so yummy, though, I had to share. I thought I would really miss the meat, but this is chunky enough that it is really satisfying. To round out the meal I normally make a batch of cornbread, sometimes from scratch, sometimes plain old Jiffy.

*Note: Please adapt how much cayenne and chili powder you use based on how spicy you like things! It is always better to start with less and add more. This is about a medium spiciness, you don't taste it much at first, but there is a big kick in the back of your throat. Cayenne adds most of the real heat and Chili powder is more of a subtle heat, so if you have a real aversion to spicy things, reduce the cayenne by half or so, if you love spicy things, add another 1/2 tsp. Again, it is always better to start light, you cannot make this less spicy if it gets too strong for you.

Also, you have to wait a good 10 minutes or so to really taste the spices, so don't taste immediately and decide you need more. Chili powder gets stronger the longer it sits.

Vegetarian Chili:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 onion, roughly diced

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 small box mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1 28 oz can Tomato Sauce

1/2 28 oz can water (I use the water to get all of the tomato out of both cans and to thin the chili a little)

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes (I get no salt added, the other two cans have plenty of salt)

1 28 oz can black beans

1 14 oz can kidney beans

Shredded Sharp Cheddar (optional)

1) Chop/dice all veggies and set aside.

2) Heat Olive oil over medium high heat in large sauce pan. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Saute until onions are soft, about 4-5 minutes.

3) Stir in mushrooms and garlic.

4) Add spices and thoroughly cover the veggies.

5) Pour the cans of tomatoes and extra water in the sauce pan.

6) Drain the cans of beans and rinse well. Add to the pot.

7) Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, then taste. Add cayenne for more spiciness or chili powder for a stronger "chili" flavor--it won't add very much spiciness to the dish, though.

8) Let simmer another 15 minutes or so, long enough for all the flavors to meld. Serve sprinkled with cheddar cheese.

This is a forgiving dish, you can let it simmer for an hour if needs be, or serve it pretty quickly. The longer it simmers the stronger and better it tastes.

Vegetarian Pasta

As my parents go through the journey of my dad dealing with cancer, they are trying to cut out more animal protein. It isn't easy to go from eating a lot of meat and dairy to finding healthy vegetarian recipes that actually taste good, so I am starting to send them some of the recipes I modify on the job for Joshua and I. I thought I'd share tonights, mostly because it literally took 15 minutes to make, has lots of veggies, and is yummy.

I call it "Dinner":

Any pasta you want (I used whole wheat Rigatoni--whole wheat has more fiber, but I'm not sure there are many other advantages in pasta form)

1 bottle of a yummy red sauce you like

1 yellow onion

1 or 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 container mushrooms (any kind you like, I get what's on sale and already sliced--and Josh would tell you, I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms, but they don't overpower in this, so I can do it)

1/2-1 bag baby spinach (up to you)

1 can black beans

1/4 cup Red wine (or white)

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (little tip with dried seasonings, if you rub them in your hand as you dump them in, it helps release more of the oils into your food and give better flavor)

1 tsp Dried basil

1/2 tsp or so of garlic powder

Fresh parmesan cheese

Boil the noodles in salted water, drain, set aside.

Dice the onion and mushrooms. Tear the spinach in half or thirds.

Saute the onions with a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large saucepan (yes, saucepan, this is so it will be all in one dish, I used the pan I had boiled the noodles in once I drained them--cut all the veggies while the noodles were boiling).

Once the onions are transparent, add the italian seasoning, basil, mushrooms, and spinach. Saute for about a minute, until the spinach is wilted and the mushrooms seem kinda soft.

Add the wine and bring to a simmer (just a minute or two). Add the bottle of spaghetti sauce and the black beans. Bring to a simmer.

Turn off the stove, add the noodles, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Garlic toast is always yummy as a side...

Side note--I used what veggies I had in the fridge, cut up carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc would all work. Use what you like, leave out what you don't. The goal is to get a good 2-3 servings of veggies in this one dish, trust me, your body will thank you!

Second side note--While making my own sauce works sometimes, I have decided I like doctoring up bottled sauce, because canned tomatoes leach BPA out of cans, which is not good, so I tell myself all the bottled sauces were only in the fresh tomato form. This is possibly not true, but, my mind likes that idea better. Oh, and it's quicker.

Enjoy!