This past week the weather was indecisive — deviously wavering on the edge of cold and warm. In fact, Friday’s clear blue sky and strong sunshine had me all but convinced it would be a warm day until I walked outside and realized I still needed a coat. Talk about disappointment! Due to the weather’s fluctuations, my dish of the week was a surprisingly tasty vegetarian chili that would be a satisfying dish in the depths of winter or on a hot summer’s day.

A few quick notes about this recipe:

Like last week’s chicken tortilla soup, the serving size is eight, and that is huge. But what this translates to for those who don’t live with seven other people is plenty of perfectly reheatable leftovers.

When the recipe says low heat, KEEP IT LOW. If you turn up the stove to reduce the cook time you will end up spending an hour scraping burnt chili off the bottom of the pan, which is even less fun than it sounds.

Jalapenos are scary, I agree, but leave them in the chili; they are there for a reason. This chili won’t burn your mouth like Limoncello shots, but the spice is just enough to keep you from realizing the only thing in here is vegetables.

Serves 8 | Hands-on time: one hour | Total time: two hours and 30 minutes | Source: Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt (optional, I personally forgot to add it and no one noticed)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 (12 oz) packages vegetarian burger crumbles (I used Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers because they were the first ones I found in the grocery store)
• 3 (28 oz) cans crushed whole tomatoes 
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and stir in the onion, bay leaves, cumin, oregano and salt.
2. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic and green chile peppers.
3. When the vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer five minutes.
4. Next mix in the crushed tomatoes, chili powder, pepper, kidney beans, garbanzo beans and black beans.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 45 minutes.
6. Stir in the corn and continue cooking five minutes before serving.

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