I love winters. Nothing removes the chill of a winter night as warm soup and homemade warm bread. Since winters have not been the norm this year (we had measly snow - all of 8 snow flakes :/), I had not tried out my collection of soup recipes. Also now a days, with none of my usual crowd dropping in for dinner - I loathe cooking elaborate dinners for one :( But last Sunday, I decided to get back into the game.. I am reopening the Food Club (actually forcefully dragging in my friends to eat ... they don't have to cook :/). With that thought I went and restocked my pantry and made the first winter soup of the year - Veg Chili.
Being a grad student with a completely eratic schedule, my meals are a version of Sandra Lee Meets Rachel Ray - they are simple enough to be made in half an hour or so, with a lot of store bought pre-made stuff, and though good to look at and eat, they are not as elaborate as Lee's meals. The Chili is no exception - canned beans, tomatoes and spice packets are spiffed up with fresh veggies to make a hearty meal in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients -
1 18 oz. can of Red Beans
18 oz. can of Pinto Beans
24 oz can of Tomatoes (chili ready or not)
1 packet of Chili spice (or 1/2 tsp each of powdered oregano, coriander, cumin, cloves and all spice)
2 tsp (or more) of pepper flakes
Fresh Veggies - Chopped onions, Capsicum (I have both yellow and green in this version), garlic and anything else you might want to add :)
Oil and salt to taste
Recipe -
In about 1 Tbsp of oil saute the onions, the capsicum, garlic till the veggies get tender.
Then add the beans and tomatoes and little bit of water.
Either add the chili mix according to the directions or add the spice mix. Bring the mixture to boil and turn down the heat and let it simmer for 15- 20 min.
I actually like to eat the chili after it is a day old and all the spices have marinated. I have served it with garlic bread stick here (store bought and warmed in the oven) but I prefer eating it with Corn bread.
Being a grad student with a completely eratic schedule, my meals are a version of Sandra Lee Meets Rachel Ray - they are simple enough to be made in half an hour or so, with a lot of store bought pre-made stuff, and though good to look at and eat, they are not as elaborate as Lee's meals. The Chili is no exception - canned beans, tomatoes and spice packets are spiffed up with fresh veggies to make a hearty meal in less than 30 minutes.Ingredients -
1 18 oz. can of Red Beans
18 oz. can of Pinto Beans
24 oz can of Tomatoes (chili ready or not)
1 packet of Chili spice (or 1/2 tsp each of powdered oregano, coriander, cumin, cloves and all spice)
2 tsp (or more) of pepper flakes
Fresh Veggies - Chopped onions, Capsicum (I have both yellow and green in this version), garlic and anything else you might want to add :)
Oil and salt to taste
Recipe -
In about 1 Tbsp of oil saute the onions, the capsicum, garlic till the veggies get tender.Then add the beans and tomatoes and little bit of water.
Either add the chili mix according to the directions or add the spice mix. Bring the mixture to boil and turn down the heat and let it simmer for 15- 20 min.
I actually like to eat the chili after it is a day old and all the spices have marinated. I have served it with garlic bread stick here (store bought and warmed in the oven) but I prefer eating it with Corn bread.
Hmmm...mouth watering... As usual I don't have half the ingredients. But will try this out over the weekend.
I can't wait to make it! I always wanted to have Chilli, how I can make it veggie version. Thanks for posting!
@ Sameera - It really tastes good :)
@ Mohati - You are welcome.