Monthly Archives: January 2013

January 29, 2013 · 3:55 pm

Game Day Chili

I love chili and I make lots of different versions of it.  They all stem from this basic recipe.  This recipe is so easy and delicious that you can easily make it for game day or any other day of the week.  The version I am posting here is a vegetarian recipe using veggie crumbles which you can find in any grocery store.  I like Morningstar Farms.  I use this recipe when I want a lighter chili and also when I want to load it up with sour cream and cheese 🙂  Of course you can always use a lean ground meat or turkey as well.  I try to use reduced fat (not nonfat) sour cream and cheese to also keep it on the lighter side.

Even though this is vegetarian, it is still extremely hearty due to the veggie crumbles and all the beans.  The texture is perfect as well.  Another really nice thing is that it is extremely easy to make and quick cooking.  It is great on its own, with toppings such as scallions, cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, pickled jalapeno, fresh cilantro, etc.  In fact, a really fun way to serve this is to make a chili bar where you put out the pot of chilli and lots of different toppings and let people make their own bowl.  Another favorite way to eat this is to put them over cheese nachos and make chili cheese nachos.  I will have to post that recipe some time soon.  In the meantime, this is a great recipe that you can get really creative with.

 

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

 

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (12 ounce) package veggie crumbles

2 (15 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 ounce) can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried chili powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Add veggie crumbles and beans and stir to combine.

Add tomatoes, spices, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer on low until all flavors are combined, about 15-20 minutes.

Touchdown_Chili_Recipe

 

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Filed under Beans, Pareve, Vegetarian

January 27, 2013 · 6:59 pm

On A Personal Note

I first want to thank all the readers who have been continuing to come to the site even though it has been a long while since I have been consistently posting. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many visitors the blog still gets.  I thought I should let people know why the long gaps between posts.  The past few months have been difficult, but also a time of great joy. 

This past November my grandmother was hospitalized with a blood clot.  Although that is quite dangerous, the doctors caught it on time and her prognosis was good.  Unfortunately, while in the hospital she developed an infection.  Due to inadequate and negligent care (in my opinion) she ended up passing away three weeks later.  It was a shock to me and my family and I still cannot believe she is gone. 

Image

From left – my siste Kathleen, my mom, my grandma, me

I wanted to write about her here, on my food blog, because she has been such an influence in my life and my cooking.  She used to take care of my while my parents were at work and my fondest childhood memories are of her.  Mostly of us cooking in her kitchen, watching cooking shows on TV such as Julia Child and The Frugal Gourmet, and creating recipes together.  I recently found Micky’s Cookbook, the original version.  This was a project I did with my grandma when I could only have been 7 or 8 years old.  It was a beat up blue spiral notebook with recipes.  Some of them were family recipes, some were ones that she found in magazines and some were ones that we made up together.  I completely forgot that we even did this and had to laugh as today I have volumes of Micky’s Cookbook.  In college I started collecting recipes from the internet, magazines, cooking shows and my family.  Today I must have close to 500 recipes and three huge binders.  I forgot that it all started with my grandma.  This is why I would like to pay tribute to a very special woman that has shaped who I am as a person, mother and cook today.

Her passing was a time of great sadness and then just to demonstrate the circle of life, I gave birth to a baby girl five days later, Ariel Leah.  My grandmother wanted so much to meet her and I can only hope that she is looking down on her now.  She is the sweetest baby and I am in love.  I am pretty much getting no sleep between her and my 2 year old, but I would not change anything.  I am so grateful. 

As for the blog, I am going to keep at it. I just wrote up a fabulous chili recipe which I plan to post this week as it is a great Superbowl dish.  I am not sure how much posting I will be doing in the upcoming months but I ask that you stick with me and keep checking the blog.  If you choose to “follow me” you will automatically receive an email when I post.   If you “Like” me on facebook I always announce postings there as well. 

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