Claire's Vegetarian Chili

Yay! The time of year for soups and jackets is almost here! During the change of season we've puledl out our facial tissue (for our allergies) and our cookbooks (for the hearty winter cooking!)

And by we, I mean my sister and I. Claire is an incredible cook. She cooked for me all through college... Our apartment was always stocked with homemade soups and rice crispy treats galore. When she married and left me I was starved for the good homemade foods I was accustomed to and was forced to begin cooking for myself. Because of this, I attribute Claire for the cooking skills I now have acquired!

Claire is a soup connoisseur. She has recently begun creating her own homemade cream of mushroom soup to add to soups in place of the canned stuff, inspired by the Food Network's Alton Brown. She uses fresh ingredients and milk in place of the cream which it originally calls for which provides a healthier and tastier final product. Soon I plan to attempt to make the cream of mushroom soup using wheat-free ingredients (as the original Alton Brown recipe calls for flour) and sharing with you on this blog.

I also have plans of soon sharing her famous white chicken chili with you here very soon.

This week both Claire and I made a Chili. I am going to share her recipe with you because she's the soup veteran - I'm just a rookie.

picture of Claire's Vegetarian Chili by Claire

Claire made this chili for her husband Dustin this week and it was very good! It is from the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook and she said it was super easy! She slightly revised it, as they called for all black beans which she didn't use.

Here's what she did:

Vegetarian Chili

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon veg oil

2 cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsley chopped

1 cup picante sauce

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chili beans, undrained

1 large green pepper, cut in 3/4 inch pieces

1 large red pepper, cut in 3/4 inch pieces

2 large carrots, scraped and sliced

Add sour cream, cheddar cheese and chips for dipping at table

~ Saute onion in hot oil in a dutch oven over medium- high heat until tender. Add tomatoes and next 4 ingredients; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

~ Stir in beans, peppers, and carrot. Cover and cook over medium- low heat 25 min or until vegetables are tender, stirring mixture occasionally. I let mine simmer for an hour.

~ This recipie also called for 4 cups of cooked rice which I skipped! Enjoy!!!