Friday, November 14, 2008

Chili Cook Off

Just before Halloween each year our ward has a Chili cook-off & trunk or treat. Rick has won the pie, and placed in chili in years past. Rick's chilli's always contain many kinds of meat, and no beans. This year I decided to try a vegetarian one.

I didn't win the cook-off but I did win the people's choice - which I felt pretty good about. Then Rick confessed he put my name in twice. Well, that's OK I told myself, I thought it was pretty good chili. I hadn't voted & I would have totally voted for myself.

As we pulled in the driveway at the end of the day I asked "Babe, you just voted twice right, not 30 times." He promised he had. Then Emily piped up from the back "I voted twice for you too Mom!"

Great! I totally cheated. Well, it was darn good chili anyway.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.


As Rick passed this show of my efforts he said "If only that was beef, veal, pork, bacon..."
Sauteing the onion and peppers in the olive oil. Yum.

OK, no pictures of the rest. I dumped it in the crock-pot & raced off to finish sewing Emily's Halloween costume - forgot to take a picture of the finished product too!

I like lots of beans in chili. I like it to be spicy, but not so much that you can't taste the flavors of the other things in it. This was just about right - the kick hit you after a few mouthfuls & it wasn't too overwhelming. A bit too spicy for my kids, so I won't be making it on a regular basis, but I sure loved it.


Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Orange Pepper
1 medium Yellow Onion
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 Can Small Red Beans
2 tbs.. Roasted Pepper Flavored Olive Oil

Seasonings:
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 Dash Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Oregano
dash of Black Pepper
dash of Paprika

Combine all seasonings in a bowl and set aside.
Dice up all the peppers and the onion.
Sauté the vegetables in a large skillet in using the flavored olive oil.
Add the bowl of spices to the skillet, Stir well.
Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally then transfer to a slow cooker.

Add both cans of tomatoes - do not drain.
Drain the cans of beans and add them, mix well.
Cook in crock pot on low for 6 – 8 hours.

1 comment:

Tara said...

I have the worst memory. I completely forgot that you have a food blog. I usually check your blog while I'm at work so I hadn't added your food blog to my favourites at home and then spaced it. I was going back through your blog today to write down all of the books you've recommended and came across your food blog post. I'm so happy. I've been looking for a good chili recipe. I've tried a few but haven't been fully satisfied. I'm looking forward to trying this when the weather cools down.