Chili Pot

Woah baby, it's COLD outside!  Wherever you are in the world, veganism is a super choice.  In this part of the world, right now, it's cold.  Like, really cold.  When I lived in New Zealand, it never got this cold.  But now that I live in Northern Virginia in the US, the winters are mighty frozen.  One of my favorite meals to put together on a cold winter day is a large pot of chili.  Homemade chili is delicious, hot, and one of the most filling meals I have ever had.  I have tried many different recipes, and my own is my favorite!  Try playing around with it, it is fun to experiment.

Anti-Winter Chili

2 cups of sauteed bell peppers and onions

1 16 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes

2 packages of Tempeh

1 can each of black beans, red kidney beans, and white beans

1 package of mild chili seasoning mix 

olive oil

  First, put a little olive oil into a pan and saute your onions and peppers...DO NOT limit yourself to just onions and peppers though!  Sometimes I throw in whatever leftover frozen vegetables I have in the freezer.  They are all good, especially mushrooms.  Leftover hash browns are also good! 

  Then, put all the beans, undrained, into a big pot.  Don't over-think it, just use a big pot.  I use the liquid from the beans instead of water because it is thicker and my husband likes a hearty chili.  Pour about half the liquid from the tomatoes in and cut each tomato into 2-3 pieces.  Put 'em in the pot.  Crumble the tempeh and add that to the pot along with the sauteed veggies.  Stir really well and then add the chili seasoning.  The prep time on this meal is SUPER fast and the results are amazing.  I like to cook a pot of elbow macaroni to go with it.  Put about a half cup of macaroni in the bottom of the bowl and then cover it with chili.  You can also serve this with some choice vegan cornbread.  I use Jiffy cornbread mix and veganize it with EnerG Egg replacer.  It is very, very good!