Winter = Chili

 I used this chili recipe as a base but changed it ever so slightly (and cut it in half). Here’s what I came up with:

1/2 TB olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 TB dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 four oz. can chipotle peppers (in adobe sauce)
1 box Amy’s Texas burger, crumbled
1 1/2 twenty-eight oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes
2 TB chili powder
1 TB black pepper
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 can chick peas, rinsed
1/4 cup vegetable broth
Chopped green onion for garnish

1) Do your chopping, mincing and rinsing. Crush all the canned tomatoes by hand and put in a bowl. Remove chipotle peppers from sauce and chop ’em up. Set the adobe sauce aside to add later. Or if you’re not into spice, leave it out.

2) Fry up the Amy’s burgers with a little oil. Amy’s makes thee best frozen burgers in my humble opinion. *The silly user comments in the recipe’s link above says to crumble the veggie burger into tiny, tiny pieces! Otherwise the ingester will know it is not real beef! What a catastrophe indeed. I left plenty of big chunks of burger because I know better.

3) Heat up the olive oil, onion and garlic in a large pot on medium heat. Season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano and salt. Cook till the onions are tender.

4) Mix in bell pepper, jalapeno and chipotle peppers. Let veggies cook.

5) Stir in burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook for a few minutes.

6) Now add those squished tomatoes you got from your cans. Stir. Add the adobe sauce if you want.

7) Season with chili powder and black pepper. Stir well.

8) Add the beans! Bring the chili to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

9) Serve topped with the chopped green onion.