Veggie Chili Just as Good, If Not Better

My wife's a vegetarian and me, I eat just about any kind of mammal or bird that once ran, jumped or at least dreamed of jumping along this planet.

Knowing her diet, I have tailored some of her favorite dishes so she can now enjoy them. For example, she loves chili, but gave up beef several years ago.

Here’s what you will need:

2 pounds of soy meat (or if you just have to eat meat, use ground turkey)

3 large cans of tomato sauce

1 medium sized onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 cup of red beans

4 tablespoons of light brown sugar

3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons of season salt

1 tablespoon of garlic powder

2 teaspoons of olive oil

The one item that takes the longest time to prepare in this recipe is the beans. You can use canned red beans, but why take a shortcut?

In a medium sized bowl, soak the red beans in cold water for at least six hours. Once the beans have soaked, drain the water from them and put them to the side.

Dice the bell peppers and onion and place them in a bowl.

Pour the three cans of tomato sauce into your crock pot and set it to a low setting. Once the sauce begins to heat, add the beans. (NOTE: If you don’t have a crock pot, use a large pot and set the stovetop to a low setting.)

In a large pan, sauté the peppers, onion and soy meat in the olive oil, making sure the vegetables are still firm at the same time.

Once you have sautéed the peppers, onions and soy meat, add the mixture to the sauce. At this point, also add the brown sugar, cayenne pepper, season salt and garlic powder.

Let the chili cook for at least five hours, checking it every 20 minutes to make sure it doesn’t stick or burn.

Once the chili is done, serve it with some shredded cheese and sour cream.

If you try this recipe, take a picture and email me at andre.taylor@patch.com and let me know how it turned out. If you have another recipe you want to share with me, send that along.

Until then, keep on burnin’!