Vegetarian Chili (with Ground Chuck)

Okay, okay.  I know it isn't technically vegetarian chili when you add a pound of ground chuck.  But it's been two brutal weeks of intensives in my seminary life and the thought of making something reheatable last just a little bit longer sounded good. But beans are still the main ingredient.  And you could easily take out the meat.

So.  I took the basic recipe from Julie's Blog (left) but refused to measure anything.

I also forgot to take pictures.

Brown ground chuck mostly through.  Drain and set aside in a different bowl.

In the same pan, saute a chopped onion, two chopped peppers (I used orange, but you could use red or yellow), and 5-7 cloves of garlic, also chopped.  Give those a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.  I threw some freshly cracked pepper in there too, just for good measure.

Add the drained meat, at least two cans of rinsed black beans, a can or two of red beans (also rinsed), a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, the "juice" of a small can of chipotle peppers adobe style, some cumin, some chili powder and stir until everything is mixed.

At this point, in my recipe, I felt things were a bit thick, so I added just a bit of water to liquify it a bit.  But if you like thick chili, you don't have to.

Put a lid on it and let it simmer for a good hour.  Feel free to stir occasionally.  Your house or apartment will smell heavenly.  It's ready after that hour.

I also made some baked potatoes at the same time.  So we feasted on baked potatoes and chili for dinner after a day of snowed-in pajama-ness.