Jess's Famous Chili

written by Jess and prepared by me

Here is a vegetarian chili recipe that you might enjoy. Keep in mind that when it comes to chili, you can always change and adjust the recipes to your liking. You might want to serve your chili over a long grain white rice. If you want to add meat, then we always used ground turkey or venison. (It is great w/o though.) It has much less fat than beef and would probably fit in the healthy diet that you are striving for. It only takes a few minutes to brown before you throw it in the pot. This is a really mild recipe, add hot sauce if you want to kick up the heat. This recipe can be made on your stove, but the following is for your slow cooker.

Vegetarian Chili

Chop everything bite size

1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

Sautee together in 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil for a couple of minutes until softened, but still crunchy. Add the garlic first and make sure it's cooked completely, but not burnt. Use slotted spoon and add to crockpot.

NEXT, ADD ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TO YOUR CROCKPOT IN THIS ORDER, THEN STIR.

1 pound browned ground turkey or venison, if desired

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices (approx
one and one half cups)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 10-oz package of frozen whole kernel corn
1 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 15-oz can red kidney beans, drained
1 15-oz can Great Northern white beans, drained
1 15-oz can pinto beans, drained (only if you have room in your pot)
1 8-0z can of tomatoe paste
2 15-oz can diced tomatoes (only add one at first and then the other if you
have room in your pot)
2 15-oz can stewed tomatoes (same as above)
1 4-0z can of diced chilis

SPICES
You can do one of two things
1) Add one package of McCormicks chili seasoning (any brand will do)
2) Add the following
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
a dash of salt
a dash of pepper

TOPPINGS
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped green onions
Sour cream
Eat with saltines or tortilla chips
We like ours served over white rice
Hot sauce

STIR EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND COVER.  COOK ON LOW-HEAT SETTING FOR 8 TO 10 HOURS OR ON HIGH-HEAT SETTING FOR 4 TO 5 HOURS.  TINA AND I PREFER TO COOK THE CHILI ON A LOW-HEAT SETTING OVERNIGHT.  THE CHILI ONLY GETS BETTER THE SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH DAYS.  IT WILL KEEP.