Vegetarian Chili

So, I realized that I haven't posted in nearly a month. WOW that went fast! But, I am back, with something wonderful. Vegetarian chili. It is perfecto. Super simple and in a crockpot. Full of veggies and delicious. What more can you ask for? Well, I found the recipe and procured the necessary items. I did ASK my boy to do the actual cooking. I came home to the house smelling lovely and I had a wonderful meal. I used tortilla chips for dipping and added some shredded cheese.

There are several variations around, but this is the one we went with.

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, not drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian baked beans
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chopped tomato puree
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced chilies
• 1 -2 jalapeno, chopped  
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, saute the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and celery for about 5 minutes.
2. In a slow cooker, combine black bean soup, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, baked beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeno, chilies, and celery.
3. Season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, basil (and cilantro if using).
4. Cook for about 6 hours on low.

ENJOY!!!

Pumpkin Seeds Part 2

I went ahead and made some pumpkin seeds this afternoon. I made this recipe with a few modifications. I don't have any chipotle and my grinder broke so I didn't add any pepper. Also, I added in about 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder. I cooked them for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for, but that's because I am easily distracted. They turned out wonderfully. I had made them with butter last year and as tasty as they were, they were too rich. I like the salty, sweet and savory combination that these have. I am actually tempted to buy a pumpkin just for the seeds!

Lentil Sloppy Joes

After several failed attempts to make a vegetarian version of Sloppy Joes, we tried the recipe that follows. I have come to the decision that there isn't a version that can replace the traditional hamburger sloppy joes. We did, however, find a yummy recipe that we all love. The recipe is good for you and is made in a crock pot. It's super easy too! Use whatever type of lentil you like, we used red since that's what we had on hand.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 tbsp oil
1 chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp oregano leaves
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2cups cooked lentils

Heat the oil, add onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, cook 1 minute.
Stir in ketchup, water, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard.
Transfer to slow cooker and add lentils. Stir well.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3.

Moros y Cristianos

 

I have something to admit. When I first met My Boy and found out that he is a vegetarian, I was a little intimidated. Combining the 2 ways of eating into one household might be easy for a meal or two, but over the long term… So when faced with this challenge, I did what I always do, RESEARCH! We went to the library and schlepped home a very large, very heavy pile of books. I spent hours (and still do) looking online for recipes that would work for us. One of the things I look for are meals that are vegetarian on purpose. By that, I mean it’s not full of fake meat substitutes or just a recipe that has had meat removed from it. One such recipe is Moros y Cristianos or Christians and Moors. Such a lovely, delicious dish, full of flavor AND it uses many ingredients that I always have on hand. And to top it all off, it’s a crock pot recipe! I read that traditionally it is served with an egg or some fried plantains. I know that the egg works very well with it, but we haven’t tried the plantains yet.


Christians and Moors
1 roasted bell pepper, finely chopped
~1tbsp oil
2 finely chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2tsp oregano leaves
2tsp crushed cumin seeds
1 peeled, chopped tomato
14-19oz beans (or 1cup dried/cooked)
1/2 cup vegetable stock
2 cups long grain rice
1 green bell pepper
2tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/4cup cilantro
4 green onions, white part only


Heat oil in skillet, add onion and cook until soft.
Add garlic, spices, stir 1 minute.
Add beans, tomato and stock, bring to boil.
Transfer to slow cooker. Cook low 8-10 or high 4-5.
Cook rice.
Add peppers to slow cooker and cook about 30 minutes.
Stir rice into slow cooker, add remaining ingredients.