Devil's Vegetarian Chili

My Devilish grocery shopping experience combined with the onset of chilly fall weather inspired this hearty dish.

I think Chili is my absolute favorite part of winter...even better than sweater socks.

I love all the colors and flavors of chili, the amount of ingredients make it look intimidating but chili is one of the easiest soups to make. Chili is basically a bunch of beans, veggies and spices tossed in some diced tomatoes and simmered, easy enough right?  Because chili is such a hearty soup it is always satisfying and it never disappoints.  

The key to a good chili is a variety of spices.

Spices I used in Devil's Chili:
Cumin
Chili Powder
Paprika
Cayenne
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Oregano
Bay Leaves

On top of the spices I added even more flavor with garlic and onions.

Although chili is hearty it is never complete without, of course, toppings.

Devil's Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 TBSP Olive Oil
½ Medium Onion, chopped
3-4 Bay Leaves
1 Stalk Celery, chopped
½ Bell Pepper, chopped (I used red but I prefer green)
1-3 TBSP Canned Jalapeno Peppers (depending on how spicy you like your chili)
3 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 TSP of cumin, paprika, ground black pepper, cayenne, sea salt and oregano
2 TBSP Chili Powder (or more)
1 28 Ounce can of diced tomatoes
4-6 dahses of Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked kidney beans

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onions and bay leaves and cook until onion is tender.
2. Add celery, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, garlic and spices (excluding chili powder) and cook until veggies are heated through.
3. Add diced tomatoes and juices, chili powder, and Louisiana hot sauce to the pot. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
4. Add beans, taste test. Add spices to adjust taste to your liking. (All the amounts of spices are approximate, I start with these amounts and then adjust as I go, every pot of chili is different!)
5. Cover the pot of chili and let it simmer (DO NOT boil, you will boil the taste out!) for 5-20 minutes.
6. Serve immediately with desired toppings. (Cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and avocado are my favorite chili toppings).

Enjoyed thoroughly in front of my Oncoming Winter Display.

So far we've discussed how spices, strong flavors, and toppings make the perfect bowl of chili.  The final touch?  A big hearty chunk of whole wheat bread.

What can I say? Oh yes, perfection.

When the first signs winter start showing I immediately get excited to make the first pot of chili of the year.  While cooking it up I envision cozy nights in front of the fireplace, twinkling Christmas tree lights, and the beautiful sight of a fresh snowfall.

Don't worry, in about a month reality will hit and the cheese factor of my posts will go down.

Winter in Minnesota does include all those warm fuzzy images but only about 10%of the time.  The reality of winter while attending college consists of trudging to class through slushy snow hiding a sleek layer of black ice beneath it. While your face is being assaulted snow that has turned into ice pellets because the wind is so fierce.  This whole horrendous scene usually ends in me slipping and landing on my butt in a pile of slush.
   
Those are the days when chili is essential to my survival.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of winter?

Bulk Bin Millet Salad

Today's lunch salad was inspired by my mom's amazing canned jalapenos and all of the bulk bin dried goods I have stockpiled in my cupboards.


I started with 1/2 cup Millet. I've never made it before so the whole toasting part was weird for me, I didn't know you couldn't just boil millet like rice or quinoa. After toasting it I added to 1 cup of boiling water and added in 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 medium onion, paprika, cayenne, cumin, and chili powder to taste.

Since this is my first time cooking millet I decided to look up the health benefits:

-Good source of phosphorus (needed to develop and repair body tissue)
-Good source of magnesium (reduces frequency of migraines, lessens the severity of asthma attacks, promotes heart health, lowers bad cholesterol)
-Good source of manganese (may help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes)
-Helps prevent gall stones (because it is a good source of fiber)
-Protects against breast cancer (fiber from whole grains/fruits has this effect)

Many whole grains have these same amazing cancer/heart/diabetes preventing abilities, so be sure to eat whole grains regularly to stay healthy. As always though be sure to read the ingredients list on products claiming to be made with whole grains to make sure it's not just a Misleading Food Label.


Then I boiled up some kidney beans and 1/2 cup lentils. Do you like my skillet as a lid? Haha this was before my roommate told me where she's been hiding all the lids. (Thanks for putting away all the dishes Ed!)

When all the legumes and grains were done coking I added the kidney beans and lentils to the Millet spice mixture.

Then I got to the good stuff...



A good helping of jalapeno peppers, and some of the juices from the can (about 1/2-1 TBSP) and a couple dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce. Stirred it all up, tasted, added more spice and dugggg in.


I topped mine with some hummus and a couple more peppers (FYI: I can, and do, eat these canned jalapeno peppers plain so you might not want to add as many as me!)



Bulk Bin Millet Salad

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup dried Millet
1/2 cup dried Lentils
1/4 cup dried Kidney Beans
1/2 Medium Onion
2 cloves of garlic
~1 TBSP Chili Powder
~1 tsp paprika, cayenne, and cumin
1-3 TBSP Canned Jalapenos
1/2-1 TBSP Canned Jalapeno Juices
Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste (or any other vinegar based hot sauce)

Directions:
Toast millet in olive oil and once toasted transfer to a pot with 1 cup boiling water. Add onion, garlic and spices, and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. While the millet cooks boil lentils and kidney beans in separate pots until soft. Lentils take about 25 minutes and Kidney beans closer to 40-50 minutes. When all the dried goods are done mix together in one bowl with hot sauce, canned jalapenos and canned jalapeno juices. Taste test and adjust to your liking by adding more spices, hot sauce or peppers.


A nice zoomed out picture that proves my life is not a Martha Stewart design catalog...I usually fool you with my close-ups to make it look like my apartment is clean...or that I'm not taking pictures in front of piles of my homework...

Oh and don't think I forgot about egg week...


This morning I met my goal to make THE perfect omelet!

Secrets to the Perfect (looking) Omelet:
-Evenly greased skillet.
-Small skillet so the eggs turn into a solid pancake egg.
-Stiff spatula (plastic ones are too flimsy for flipping, use metal)

This omelet looked and tasted delicious- I forgot how much I like hot sauce on eggs in the morning! I know not many people share this sentiment, but I really have grown up on spicy food.

Random weird fact: my dad and I like jalapeno peppers so much we put them on tuna salad on top of pepper jack cheese and a cracker for a good snack. My mom also taught me from a young age how to cook amazing spicy food. I think I hooked the BF when I cooked him Chicken Fajitas...I'll have to make a veggie version soon!

Do you like spicy food?