Best-Ever Vegetarian, Quinoa Chili !

February 15, 2015

Best-Ever Vegetarian, Quinoa Chili !

Hey all, I hope you are all enjoying a relaxing Sunday... I have a very wonderful Sunday appropriate recipe for you guys: The Best-Ever Vegetarian, Quinoa Chili. This is the perfect weekend meal. It's "meaty", thick, and rich. Packed with protein and tons of great chili flavor and its quick and pretty simple. I've been toying with the idea of vegetarian chili for a while now, but I honestly had no faith in it. I LOVE traditional, meat-filled chili and I just couldn't see how a meatless version would compare... But the last few weeks of more vegetarian/vegan eating has made me a much more adventurous eater , so I was ready to give it a try! It turned out to be the best chili I've ever made. Really, hands down. I topped it with sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese, and green onion. I also made cornbread with lots of honey and added corn bits too. So delicous. Here's my recipe.

What you'll need:

2 Alarm Chili Kit
1 can chili beans
1 can white kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup of quinoa
1 med yellow onion
3-6 Baby Portabella mushrooms
3 TBS butter
2 TBS minced garlic
14oz of water

Cooking Instructions:

In a medium size pot add two cups of water and bring to a boil. Add your quinoa and allow to simmer for 7 minutes. Drain the water and set aside. In a large pot add your butter and garlic and cook over med low heat for about 1 minute or until golden brown. Wash and remove stump of mushrooms and slice them thinly. Add your mushrooms and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Slice your onion and add to saute pot and cover. Sweat the onions for about 5-7 minutes

Once the onions become translucent and soft add your diced tomatoes, chili beans, and kidney beans. Then add the spices from the chili kit. I used the entire packet of chili spice, cumin, salt, paprika and the onions and garlic. The packet of Red Pepper is what determines how spicy your chili will be and I added about half. My chili was mild, 3/4 of it will give you a hotter chili, and using all of it I imagine would give you fire! Haha. Stir the pot and then add14 oz of water. Add your cooked quinoa and stir the pot again and cover. Let simmer for about 35 minutes. Stir often.

Wonderful things will be happening in the pot as all your flavors come together ! Make sure you wait the ENTIRE 35 minutes for maximum goodness. It will be well worth it. Here is a picture of my chili fresh out of the pot and un-topped. Pure, hearty, chili perfection.