Vegetarian Chili

So it's Lent, and that means trying to come up with some meat-free options for Fridays. My go to dinners are usually pancakes or spaghetti... dull, I know. The whole idea for veggie chili came about because I had a yellow squash that needed to be eaten. That's all it took-- one little, insignificant squash. So I wandered over to Sprouts and picked up ridiculously inexpensive canned goods. I think I got three cans of beans, a can of fire roasted tomatoes, and a vegetarian chili seasoning packet for around $5. I had all the veggies just laying around at home, so I put this dish together pretty quickly and relatively cheap. I was a little worried, in fact, that it made so much. Luckily, I had a hungry college boy on hand to come and eat most of it!







1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

2-3 carrots, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup frozen corn

1 can each of:

kidney beans

pinto beans

black beans

fire roasted tomatoes

1 packet of chili seasoning
Other seasonings to taste: Paprika, Cumin, Cayenne

Salt & Pepper

Vegetable oil

In a big soup pot, saute veggies until soft in a bit of oil, around 7-10 minutes. Add seasoning packet to warm up spices, salt, and pepper and stir to coat all the veggies. Add beans and tomatoes, and two cans of water (or vegetable stock if you have it). Here's the point where I like to add the frozen corn. Bring everything to a boil and let simmer away for about an hour. I ate it served on top of some rice and some grated cheese up on top. It was amazing! Hearty, spicy, melty and definitely delicious.