Vegetarian Chili

Serves 6-8
Vegan

Yee-haw! Try topping your Vegetarian Chili with cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream, lime juice, or avocado. Serve with cornbread, on top of rice or roasted potatoes for a hearty meal.

oil
1 onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
a bunch of mushrooms, cut into large pieces (use any kind you like)
1 package of fake meat crumbles (I like Morningstar Farms, but use whatever you like)
salt & pepper
cumin
hot sauce of your choice
dried herbs (I like oregano, but use what you like)
1 can of black beans
1 small can of green chilies
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of whole or crushed tomatoes
1 box of veggie stock

In a large pot, sauté the onion and the garlic until they are translucent.

Add the celery, the carrot, the zucchini, the bell pepper, and the mushrooms. Sauté until everything begins to brown.

Add the fake meat crumbles. Season everything very generously with salt, pepper, cumin, dried herbs, and the hot sauce.

Add the beans, green chilies, a few spoonfuls of tomato paste, the can of tomatoes, and enough veggie stock to create the consistency you want (I like mine super thick, so I usually add around 1 cup). Re-adjust the seasoning.

Taste it! By now, it should taste like chili. Spicy, smoky, and salty. Continue to season until you like the way it tastes. Cook everything for 10 more minutes, and enjoy!

Throwing a Super Bowl party, or have a house full of lumberjack-cowboy-construction workers? Put the stereotypes to ease by serving your crowd chili cheese nachos, or veggie burgers / hot dogs smothered in vegetarian chili. Go Bears.