Veggie Chili Touchdown!

We didn't have any plans for the "Big Game" this year, so we invited a friend over that we hadn't seen in a while. Since she's a vegetarian, I figured we could whip up a batch of veggie chili for us all to nosh on while watching the game. I started by, what else, Googling "veggie chili" recipes and ended up using a mish-mash of 3 or 4 recipes that popped up. And I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good!

Here's what I used...

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (we actually used 1/2 red and 1/2 white that we had left in the fridge)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 yellow pepper (again, something that was found in our fridge)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
11 oz can of corn
1 zucchini
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt & pepper to taste
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
28 oz can of whole tomatoes, chopped, with juices *
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onions, sliced

Start by chopping all the vegetables, garlic, and peppers. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute the onions, peppers, garlic, and jalapeno a couple minutes until they start to soften (about 3 minutes). Add the zucchini and corn and cook about 5 more minutes until they all soften. Add the spices and herbs and cook another minute or so.

After sauteing all the veggies and spices. Smells so good!

Add the beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  This really lets all the seasonings seep in and mix together deliciously.  Serve hot and garnish with cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Enjoy!

The finished version

* Note - I used a can of whole tomatoes we had at home and chopped them myself. You could probably just use a can of chopped tomatoes and save yourself that step.

Also, initially I felt the chili didn't have enough liquid so I added about 1/2 cup water, but you could probably just use some of the liquid from the beans instead. And actually, after letting it all simmer for a while, the veggies released some liquid and it ended up being just fine.

Please pardon the bad iphone photos. I promise my photography will get better!

Oh, and YAY PACKERS!