Quinoa Chili

Here's a nice vegetarian chili, whether your family goes meatless all the time or just wants to try something new. I stole it from a friend's blog (katewangsgard.blogspot.com) and she has lots of other vegetarian recipes you can check out. You can also check there for a picture :)

2 t. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
- Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender

2 t. salt
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. cinnamon
- Add above ingredients; saute for 5-10 minutes

2/3 c. quinoa
- Rinse quinoa and stir in

1 c. frozen corn
1 can tomato sauce
1 c. water
- Add above ingredients; simmer together for 20 minutes

2 cans beans
- Add beans to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes

Can be topped with your typical chili toppings - cheese, corn chips, sour cream, etc. One final note, the quinoa really does need all 35 minutes (at least) to cook fully, so don't skimp on the simmering time. Last time I made this the quinoa was still a little hard, so I would recommend covering the skillet while simmering and adding a little extra water if needed.

Fall Chili

I made this recipe last night for dinner and I thought it was great! It's from recipezaar.com, but I will just paste it here. It's a mild, sweet chili which is how I like it. You could certainly add more heat to it if you like. We topped ours with grated cheese and sour cream, and had cornbread on the side. Perfect for cold weather!

The only thing I did differently was to add the dry spices to the hamburger and onions and fried them up that way. And I did not add cornstarch, I didn't think it needed it.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, diced

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 bay leaf

• 1 (15 ounce) can italian tomato sauce

• 1 (30 ounce) can diced tomatoes

• 2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans (drained)

Directions

1. 1

   Brown hamburger & onions. Drain. Add tomatoes,tomato sauce, beans,and dry ingredients. Mix together.

2. 2

   Make sure all the dry ingredients are blended together before adding to the liquid. Simmer for at least one hour. Remove bay leaf. Much better the next day. Freezes very well.

White Chili

1 T. olive oil
2 med. onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilies
4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
3 (15 oz.) cans white beans (DO NOT DRAIN)
5 c. chicken broth
3 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese

In a small frying pan, heat oil and add onions and garlic. Saute' until the onions are tender. Add the 2 cans of diced green chilies and heat through. Add the cumin, cayenne, and oregano and simmer for 5 minutes or so to blend flavors. In a large soup pot, add undrained beans, chicken broth and chicken and heat. Add the onion mixture and heat throughout. Add the cheese and heat until all of the cheese melts. Serve in bowls and, if desired, top with tortilla chips, more cheese, tomatoes, and guacamole.

This is so stinkin good!!! Homemade corn tortilla chips are really good to top it with. To make the chips, cut some yellow corn tortillas into stips (like cafe rio chips on their salads). Then put them in a frying pan into already hot olive oil. Fry them til they are crispy. Put onto paper towells, salt with kosher salt and put them into the chili with guacamole and tomatoes. SOOOO good!!!