It’s like the weather flipped a switch! Really, it was 70F one day and the next, dropped to 50F. Pretty rude, but I guess with less than a week left of October, it was time for fall to truly set in. Fresh beans are out of the season with their pods all dried out. I got some fresh plucked beans from my CSA (are these fresh, dry beans?), there was leftover tomato sauce from the homemade tomato sauce used for the Zucchini Parm Lasagna, and I had a few peppers starting to wrinkle. With the chilly weather & these ingredients, I wanted something hot and cozy and fall? I think that means chili.
Ingredients
Beans – Use any beans you would like. When I have a lot of dry beans and I’m feeling especially beany, I’ll cook off a large batch and then freeze the cooked beans to use in future recipes. These beans can also be substituted for canned beans. In chili, no one will ever know.
Tomato sauce – I had some extra tomato sauce from the last batch of fresh tomatoes from the farm. My tomato sauce was flavored only with onions, garlic, and salt, but you can use any canned or jarred tomato from the grocery store. If using plain canned crushed tomatoes, more salt may need to be added.
Protein – I wanted to keep my chili veggie friendly, so I used a soy protein alternative. Use whatever you like! Some good options might be ground pork, beef, chicken, or even Italian sausage or seitan chunks.
Cozy Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound protein
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 bell peppers any color, diced
- 30 ounces cooked beans any kind
- 32 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- In a heavy pot, cook ground protein until browned, breaking up into smaller pieces. After mostly browned, removed from the pot. It's ok if it's not fully cooked yet, it'll finish cooking later.
- Lower heat to medium, and add some oil to the pot, and sauté onions and peppers with a pinch of salt until softened. Scrape bottom of the pot to loosen any brown bits from the protein.
- After onions & pepper are soft, add the beans, tomato sauce, Cajun seasoning, cumin, chipotle chili powder, bay leaves, and garlic powder. Stir until combined.
- Continue cooking on low until mixture starts to simmer. Return protein to the pot and cover. Simmer for another 30 minutes – 1 hour.
- After simmering, add additional water, salt, or pepper to thin the chili to your desired consistency and season to your preference. Enjoy!
Some other soups that are lovely for fall include Tomato Basil Soup, Pumpkin Soup, and Chicken & Napa Cabbage Soup. Stay warm! <3