Awesome Loaded Veggie Chili Recipe

Even meat lovers will be pleasantly pleased with this hardy and really tasty veggie chili with an added kick of chipotle....yummmy!

This veggie chili recipe isn't just for winter. As a matter of fact as the summer season comes upon us and more fresh veggies arrive, this will make a great meal any time of the year. It also freezes very well, which means that if you make it in the summer, you can enjoy it in the cooler weather too.

During the winter months, it will be easy enough to get the right ingredients at your grocers. Just remember that some vegetables are waxed so opt for some organics or wash the skins thoroughly. I've never canned this chili before, but I suppose you could, using the same process for fruits and acid foods like tomatoes.

There are a lot of ingredients to this recipe of mine so it will make a lot! But I think you'll really enjoy it and it's so hardy and stocked full of veggies and beans that you may not even notice the missing beef. I actually prefer my chili this way and maybe you will as well once you try it! Let me know what you think!

What you will need;

A cooking pot or large crock pot

Butter to saute some of the veggies

Step one: Place the following ingredients into your stock or crock pot on low heat.

1 can each (15 ounce size) of red beans (you can use kidney beans which is standard, but I prefer the red. They are similar but not as “tough” as kidney beans and good for you as well) black beans and garbanzo beans rinsed and drained.

1 large can of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree

1 small can of tomato paste (remember a lot of liquid will come out of the veggies as they cook)

5 large fresh, ripe and firm tomatoes

1 fresh corn cob of kernels (use a knife to slide down the sides of the cob to release the kernels)

¼ cup of your favorite beer (yeah, you could drink the rest and an ale or lighter beer would work best. You could also use non alcoholic beer if you prefer)

Step two:

Saute lightly the following ingredients together:

1 medium, sweet, chopped onion

1 orange or yellow and 1 red sweet pepper, seeded and diced

2 stalks of celery diced

½ of a small eggplant, peeled and cubed

3 cloves of roasted garlic

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 chipotle pepper (yummy, smoked goodness with some kick)

2 teaspoons of cumin

about 3 fresh basil leaves diced and chopped

1 large or 2 smaller fresh carrots chopped

1 small yellow squash sliced, you can also use green zucchini if you'd like (you can even throw in a little butternut which you can buy frozen, cleaned and cubed....easy!)

Saute lightly to marry flavors together....about 6 minutes over medium low heat, stirring often and not to let the veggies get soggy, you'll still want a crisp to them as they'll continue to cook down later.

Add these veggies to your stock or crock pot and stir all ingredients together.

You'll have a rainbow of colors mixed together here and veggies that compliment each other well so you're assured of a healthy, tasty and balanced chili....not too shabby!

Add in 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar (yup) and a palm full of fresh chopped parsley and a little bit of sea salt to taste. Slow cook it for hours, stirring occasionally. If you use a crock pot, set it on low in the morning and it will be ready when you get home for dinner.

Serve this up with some fresh corn muffins or your favorite bread. Ladle the chili into bowls and garnish with a nice shredded cheddar or some fresh goat cheese (which is great with this chili!) and sprinkle some fresh chopped green onion on top also, if desired.

I have a local market that I purchase fresh goat cheese from, which is very good from a family farm (they don't have a web-site which is the reason I can't post it!)so I'll continue to get that one. But I ran across a really neat cheese site when I started my new myspace page for American Regional Cuisine as a tie in to my Bellaonline work. I haven't tried their cheese yet but I plan too soon because of the variety of French cheeses they offer. And let me know if you do, I'm always interested in your feedback.

You'll find the links below to my American Regional Cuisine page that I just started on myspace (if you're a myspacer or want to be (it's fun and free) send me a friend request and I'll add you to my friends list....it would be great to see you there! You'll find, Ile de France, on my new friends list, they have some cool stuff to check out and I'll get back to you once I've tried some of those yummy looking cheeses and recipes.

There's also some cool topics going on in the forums, as usual, here at Bella. So feel free to stop by those as well and join the conversations and discussions. We all love feedback, sharing and caring....so join us anytime.

Have a wonderful week and a great weekend too. And also in loving memory and respect of those we've held so dear to us that remain with us still in our hearts.

Many blessings......Sue