Great Vegetarian Chile Recipes!

Parent Cafe
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<p>THIS IS NOT A CHILE Recipe!!!</p>

<p>Tonight I made a very simple but delicious recipe (from the crockpot cookbook).</p>

<p>Here in central PA, I can still get fresh corn and it is surprisingly good. I think I can count on at least one more week. I am going to use the two years I have in the other chile recipe, but tonight I used four ears to make corn chowder. </p>

<p>1 onion (red is best) chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large Yukon gold potato peeled and diced (I used a bunch of petite golden potatoes, and I didn’t bother to peel, just quartered)
3 cups of frozen corn or 4 ears of fresh corn (cut the kernels from the cob!)
4 cups low sodium, Pacific brand vegetable stock
1 T. fresh chives or 3 tab of dried chives
salt, pepper to taste.</p>

<p>Heat a small amount of oil in a large stockpot and add onions, celery and saute until softened. Add the rest of the ingredients (except herbs) and simmer for an hour or until the potatoes are softened.Using an immersion blender, blend the soup, leaving some texture. Add chives, pepper (and salt if you desire).</p>

<p>Yummy! The fresh corn makes this soup amazing. I have made it many times with frozen corn, but the fresh white corn is just outstanding.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions. Instead of cornbread, I prefer sourdough. DMD77, I liked the salsa addition. WnP2, am going to try the corn chowder tonight - Panera has a really good corn chowder, too. Barley can also be pan fried and makes an excellent snack that replaces popcorn, sort of tastes like bacon.</p>

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<p>I use veggie crumbles (refrigerated TVP) in place of ground beef. If you have a well-seasoned chili, odds are you won’t taste the difference.</p>

<p>I like to pour in the sauce from a small can of chipotles in adobo. This gives a smoky, meaty flavor. I included a can of hominy in my last batch – delicious.</p>

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<p>Barley that tastes like bacon, parent1986? Exactly how do you prepare it? Do you salt it? I generally don’t like the taste of barley much and would love to find ways to make it more appealing.</p>

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<p>NJTM, I learned about the barley from my yoga teacher years ago. Just fry it in a pan - no oil needed - it seems to have its own lubricant - the bacon smell is prominent when it is cooking - I stir fry it until it is heated and brown, just a few minutes.</p>

<p>The TVP multiple people have suggested I am assuming is a soy based ingredient that is granules. I have used those in the past but lost my source - glad to hear they are now at WF’s.</p>

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<p>I use these brands, but there are several good competitors. They require zero prep, just pop it in the pan:</p>

<p>[MorningStar</a> Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles](<a href=“http://www.morningstarfarms.com/morningstar-farms-meal-starters-grillers-recipe-crumbles.html]MorningStar”>http://www.morningstarfarms.com/morningstar-farms-meal-starters-grillers-recipe-crumbles.html)</p>

<p>[Smart</a> Ground Original | Grounds | Our Food | Lightlife](<a href=“http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=smartgroundoriginal]Smart”>http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=smartgroundoriginal)</p>

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<p>MJSMom - Just had your chile last night and it was great! It will be making an appearance this Saturday for our weekly PSU tailgate. I didn’t have bottled hot sauce so I just used chipotle chile powder and I used red and orange peppers instead of green (DH hates green peppers :frowning: )</p>

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<p>Great thread – am printing off many of these recipes.</p>

<p>I’m a lazy cook. My version of vegetarian chile is to dump canned beans (I like the dark kidney) into a pan with tomato paste, canned diced tomatoes and a packet of French’s chili seasoning. (So kill me – it’s really tasty!). Heat it up and serve over rice with saltines broken up over the top and grated cheese. Not company fare but my family thinks I’m brilliant when I serve this.</p>

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<p>tvp used to be something only available at natural health food stores, but (in my area at least) it’s now in grocery stores with other healthy food products. You can buy it through Amazon too - [Bob's</a> Red Mill TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Textured-Vegetable/dp/B001O8KG74/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318357968&sr=8-2]Bob’s”>http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Textured-Vegetable/dp/B001O8KG74/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318357968&sr=8-2) </p>

<p>You need to soak it a bit, but then can treat it like finely ground beef. It picks up the flavor of whatever you cook it with and is pleasantly chewy. A little goes a long way.</p>

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<p>Sewhappy, I love low-maintenance friends!!</p>

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<p>This very good!</p>

<p>Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili</p>

<p>Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 20m | Total Time: 4hr 20m </p>

<p>Ingredients</p>

<p>· 1 medium red onion, chopped</p>

<p>· 1 green bell pepper, chopped</p>

<p>· 4 garlic cloves, chopped</p>

<p>· 1 tablespoon chili powder</p>

<p>· 1 tablespoon ground cumin</p>

<p>· 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder</p>

<p>· 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon</p>

<p>· kosher salt and black pepper</p>

<p>· 1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes</p>

<p>· 1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed</p>

<p>· 1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed</p>

<p>· 1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces</p>

<p>· sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, and tortilla chips, for serving</p>

<p>Directions</p>

<ol>
<li><p>In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup water.</p></li>
<li><p>Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours (total time is 8 hours, 20 minutes) or on high for 4 to 5 hours.</p></li>
<li><p>Serve the chili with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, and tortilla chips.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Too lazy to use a recipe, but what I tend to do is:</p>

<p>Saute an onion or two, and quite a few cloves of garlic in olive oil.
Add cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano, and chili powder in hefty quantities, a minor amount of salt as needed. </p>

<p>Add chopped celery, chopped peppers and carrot half slices. Saute for a bit, then add cooked beans. In my lazy old age, I’m using canned, usually a mix of kidney, black and garbanzo. Previously I’d cook my own pintos or kidneys. The slow cooker is a great way to cook beans without having to watch them. </p>

<p>Add canned tomatoes. The organic fire roasted are my favorite, but any will work. Season to taste. Which in my case, usually means adding soy sauce, kimchi juice (adds a great spicy, garlicy acidity), and brewers’ yeast. Flake brewers yeast is one secret to adding a meaty taste to vegetarian soups, just a tablespoon or so. At the end, I throw in some super sweet frozen corn. </p>

<p>If looking for more meaty flavor, I’d add veggie frozen sausage crumbles, just as I add turkey sausage to meaty chili. Peppers add the chili flavor, and fresh would be good for those who like more heat. Sauted mushrooms can be added, or summer squash, or eggplant or…whatever.</p>

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<p>“My version of vegetarian chile is to dump canned beans (I like the dark kidney) into a pan with tomato paste, canned diced tomatoes and a packet of French’s chili seasoning.”</p>

<p>I put Campbell’s tomato soup in mine. :slight_smile: Never heard any complaints!</p>

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<p>lol, once I made a rather nice salmon dinner for foodie friends and the side dish just didn’t come together so quickly made Uncle Ben’s original recipe wild rice – and, of course, disposed of the tell tale box before they arrived. To this day they think of me as a culinary genius.</p>

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<p>Uncle Ben’s wild rice is so good! So is Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing, and Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup (bring on the tuna casserole and turkey tetrazzini). I buy local organic beans from the farmer’s market, but they go great with that tomato soup. I go for what’s yummy, period, whether it takes me highbrow or lowbrow.</p>

<p>Last year, a friend who is a very accomplished cook invited all her yuppie friends to a potluck Thanksgiving. We’re talking about a woman who makes her own pie crust with special pasture-fed butter she buys from Amish people, yada yada. Someone brought old school green bean casserole with mushroom soup and canned fried onions. We scraped that dish clean! We had homemade rhubarb pie left over, but not green bean casserole.</p>

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<p>Another really nice and easy last minute side dish is couscous. I always keep some in the house. Cook it 2:1 water/couscous in a few minutes. Add raisins, pine nuts and Indian spices per your liking. Nice with chicken or as part of a vegetarian meal.</p>

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<p>parent1986 - I had a recipe that said to just boil the water (2:1) and pour over the couscous, cover and occasionally fluff it up! Even easier than having it on the stove. I agree it is a great meal stretcher! In fact, often when I make chile, I whip up some couscous, because unlike me, my DH needs extra carbs. Gosh, I hate when he complains that he needs to eat more to keep up his weight :O</p>

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<p>wnp2 - wait until he accuses you of weighing more than him! Anyway, twice this week I was told of visits to great Ethiopian restaurants and I believe couscous is the staple of Ethiopian food. I hope to visit a different one in my town this week - I’ve never tried Ethiopian food.</p>

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<p>Hanna where did you get rhubarb in November?</p>

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<p>I love Ethiopian food. We are lucky to have an excellent one in the town where I live. My advice is to try the vegetarian sampler. Lots of different textures and tastes. Keep in mind, you will share a plate and eat your food by scooping it up with their distinctive, spongy “bread” called enjera/injera (sp?).</p>