Vegetarian Chili Recipe!

I know most people in the family know me as "the meat and potatoes girl", but lately I've been eating less meat. I think being in this nutrition class this quarter has helped me see that meat raises cholestrol, can raise blood pressure, etc. I've been eating less meat for the environmental reasons, but either way if you're vegetarian or not, this chili is pretty darn delicious and cheap to make. I think it only cost me like 6 bucks.

The recipe didn't call for quinoa, but I decided to serve it over quinoa for some extra protein and fiber (and deliciousness)! I cooked it in a separate pot, but since these are the leftovers, the leftover quinoa was just mixed in to conserve fridge space.

• 1 can black or pinto beans, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (any color)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• dash cayenne pepper (optional)
• dash red pepper flakes (optional)

In a medium or large soup pot, saute the bell pepper (I used a yellow one), onion, and garlic in the olive oil.

Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, and spices and stir for a few minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the beans. Stir occasionally and let cook for 20 minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the more flavorful it will be. I think I let mine simmer about 30 minutes, but stopped after that because the veggies were getting too squishy for my liking.

If you're making quinoa with it, then you just boil water (2 parts water to 1 part quinoa), and add the quinoa. Turn the heat down a bit and let it bubble until most of the water is gone, then turn the heat down more and put the lid on it until it's soaked up all the water. Or you could serve it with rice, or just eat it as it is! They yellow bell pepper was really tasty. I thought it might be too sweet, but it turned out having a great flavor!