Veggie Bean Chili

Veggie Bean Chili, slow cooked, intensifying flavors. So simple to prepare and when you arrive home from work it is ready to eat. Easy and delicious for those busy workday weeks.

Veggie bean chili is such a great dish to make, especially with a slow cooker. Using great ingredients bought local and adding our own spices and twists, has left us with a chili that is both beautiful for the eye to look at and is wonderful for our taste buds to experience.

I don't know about you but I love chili. I remember being a kid and thinking that the canned chili was the best. You have to understand, I was Italian and in an Italian household chili was not a dish you would see on the table. But through a lot of whining and child demanding, I won a battle of I want that! everybody eats that! It was a chili con carne and I toasted up a piece of bread. Slathering that warmed up chili in heaps on that bread all toasted and good. I loved the spice, the beans, the sauce and those little morsels of beef. My mother and father only had one thing to say about this chili. "Thata stuffa is S____t! you guys don't know good food", in Italian of course. I paid no attention and went into my creative world enjoying the chili on toast greatly.

Well, many many moons later, here I am working and building a food blog with my beautiful wife, that we both work very hard at, I might add. Always looking for great ideas and developing new recipes, trying to make something that is both easy and delicious. Well chili came to mind right away and not wanting it too heavy and dense we opted for a vegetarian version with our own little twist. Today's special Veggie Bean Chili.

So so quick and easy Veggie Bean Chili

I love dishes like this, beautiful colorful ingredients, and so easy, and the best part, after a hard day's work, you come home and no cooking or prepping. All that is needed is a fork or spoon, a bowl, some wonderful rustic bread or cornbread. Let's not forget a hearty appetite.

I woke quite early this morning excited to put this dish in motion. I gathered up the ingredients such as dried kidney and white beans, which Nicoletta soaked for me the day before. Add in the color of peppers, some onions and garlic just because onions and garlic always make savory taste better. A bit of veggie stock and crushed san Marzano tomatoes for the sauce, making it rich and delightful. Wanting to use up some veggies in the fridge we chose the cherry tomatoes and some red potatoes to add another element of texture and flavor. I had the idea of boiling and grilling the corn so we could add some smoky charred caramelized tastes to the mix.  The spices: a melange of turmeric, cumin, garam masala, onion powder, garlic powder, I think you're getting the idea, and and you will see the spice mix in the recipe. Now for the easy part: sautée some of the veggies to get the flavors going for this chili. Toss all ingredients into the slow cooker on low, stir, and cover, and go to work, lol.

You will arrive home to a nice comfort meal, ready to go. The aroma of all those spices slow dancing with the beans and corn, will have your appetite going and a nice bit of bread warmed up in the oven will add to the pleasure of eating this chili.

The first spoonful and you taste the harmony of sweet, savory, and spice. The beans tender and earthy, the sauce with its bite and acidity, and the spice hits of turmeric, cumin and that oh so lovely garam masala; the herbs, parsley, thyme, and rosemary, dance on your tongue in delightful subtle movements. That lemongrass reminds us of the freshness of nature. Mix in the sweetness of the apple to slightly subdue the heat, and the potato starchy smooth combined with those smokily charred hits of the grilled corn elevate this chili to new heights. I love when fear is overcome and the freedom to express those intuitive thoughts that may seem absurd come to life, as in this easy breezy  Veggie Bean Chili. 

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: "Ghosts" by one of my favorite groups, Big Wreck, extremely talented and true craftsmen of music.

Veggie Bean Chili

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Veggie Bean Chili, slow cooked, intensifying flavors. So simple to prepare and when you arrive home from work it is ready to eat. Easy and delicious for those busy workday weeks.

• Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups of dried red kidney and white beans, pre-soaked and softened
• 1 red banana pepper diced
• 6 small baby carrots diced
• 1 granny smith apple cored, peeled and diced
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to keep apple from browning
• 8 multi colored cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 cobs of corn
• ½ bundle of scallions chopped
• 2 shallots chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper chopped fine
• ½ red chili pepper chopped fine
• 1 large clove garlic minced
• 1 can of San Marzano tomatoes crushed
• 5 small purple fingerling potatoes diced
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 3 tsp herb butter

Spices:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp grated lemon grass
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp pesto
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp fresh ground coriander

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Instructions

Corn:

1. Place corn in boiling salted water and boil for about 15 minutes. Take corn out and drain.
2. Start up bbq to a medium to high heat and place cobs on the grill.
3. Rotate cobs as to get a nice char evenly around the corn.
4. As corn is charring, brush 1 teaspoon of the herb butter all over the cobs of corn.
5. Take off heat, cool and cut the corn kernels off the cob and into a bowl they go.

Veggies:

1. In a medium saute pan cook onions, shallots garlic.
2. Add in carrots, peppers, jalapeno and red chili, cherry tomatoes.
3. Cook till veggies have softened a bit, then take off heat and set aside.

Spices:

1. Blend salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, garam masala, onion and garlic powder, lemon grass, paprika, dried parsley, thyme, coriander, and rosemary. Set aside.

Chili:

1. Get your slow cooker.
2. Drain the red kidney and white beans. Place in cooker.
3. Add in sauteed vegetables, corn, and stir well.
4. Take spice mix and sprinkle while stirring.
5. Pour in vegetable stock, and crushed tomatoes.
6. Cover and slow cook for about 7 hours.
7. At about the 7-hour mark place in diced potatoes and apple, and cook for an additional hour.
8. Turn off slow cooker, plate and serve. Enjoy!

• Author: Loreto
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 hours
• Category: Main, Vegetarian
• Method: Slow Cooker

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Need another slow cooker recipe? We have an amazing Cajun Jambalaya.

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Loreto

When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.