Vegetable Chili

My whole life I have thought of chili being nothing but meat and beans. In fact, I was being daring and rebellious when I made meatless chili and hoped The Honey wouldn't notice there wasn't chunks of ground beef in it! All that changed this week.

I was making some black bean chili for dinner and thought to myself, "Self, what would happen if you chopped up some carrot and celery and added it to the pot?" And then I started to think about what would actually happen. For starters, the overall calories per serving would go down. Beans are a healthier way to fill out a pot of chili (since meat is so dang pricey) because they are high in fiber and lower in fat. However a 1/2 c. of cooked beans has about 110 calories. Compare that to 1/2 c. of most veggies which has about 10-15 calories. Big difference, right?

So I started chopping. The big risk I was taking was whether the Peanut Gallery would be content to eat chili with something in it other than the usual fare. I half hoped that the veggies would cook down mushy enough to be unrecognizable. No such luck, but it didn't matter. It was some of the best-tasting chili I have ever made, and a definite keeper!

Vegetable Chili
(Makes about six 1-1/2 cup servings of 230 calories each. Keep in mind that if you add cheese and/or sour cream to your chili this will add to the overall calorie count of the bowl!)

3 c. cooked black beans (this is 1/2 lb. of black beans if you cook them yourself, and if you use canned, it's about 2 cans, rinsed and drained.)
2 c. water
3/4 lb. lean ground beef or turkey, rinsed and drained
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. diced carrot (about 1 large)
1 c. chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1/2 c. diced green bell pepper
1 Tbsp. dehydrated onion flakes
2 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. chili powder
Salt/pepper to taste
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt/pepper to taste

In a large soup pan over medium heat, combine beans, water, meat, and diced tomatoes. Start chopping the veggies while the soup is heating up.

Add the celery and carrot to the pan. Don't add the bell pepper yet because it won't need as long to cook as the crunchier veggies. Simmer or gently boil over medium heat for about 20 to minutes.

Once the carrot is just about tender enough, add the bell pepper and seasonings, and simmer another 10 to 15 minutes. Like all chili and most soups, this dish is better the longer it can sit. However, we ate ours and thoroughly enjoyed it about an hour after I started cooking it.

For the kids: Since my kids aren't big chili eaters (understandable since they don't like ground beef or black beans), I add a good bit of shredded cheese and sour cream to their small bowl of chili and serve it as a "dip" with corn chips for dinner.