When my family is not travelling, we are reminded of our adventures by eating foods that we had in places we have visited. A few years ago we visited Texas, the birthplace of chili. It has taken some time to create a chili recipe that makes all of us happy, but we finally perfected it. This chili is healthy and can be made in less than an hour for an easy weeknight meal. It contains all the veggies and protein we need- even for Meatless Monday or for a Lenten meal.
Choose-Your-Flavor Chili
Author: Jamie Italiane
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: Texan
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey or beef
- and/or 1 lb portobello mushrooms, cubed
- 2 T olive oil if you don't use meat with this recipe
- 2 cloves garlic (kitchen hack: keep a refrigerated tube of crushed garlic on hand and use one squeeze for one clove)
- 1 small red onion, minced
- 1 red or green pepper, cubed
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 28 oz can white kidney beans, drained
- 1 28 oz can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 T chili powder
- 1 T cumin
- 1 t garlic salt
- ½ t ground cayenne pepper
- ½ t ground black pepper
- ½ t oregano
Instructions
- Cook meat and veggies over medium-high heat until meat is browned throughout.
- If making a vegetarian chili, cook mushroom and vegetables with olive oil for ten minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add tomatoes and water to the pan.
- Season with the spices.
- Bring chili to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 35 minutes.
Any derivation of this chili is a meal my family loves. The meatiness of the mushrooms makes the Portobello Mushroom Chili a perfectly satisfying meal, without the meat and is my favorite! I put out sour cream and shredded cheese for the kids to make the meal their own. We eat corn bread on the side, which one of my sons makes while I make the chili. Perfect for some family bonding.
Until the next time we get to Texas…
