Veggieful Oven-Baked Chili

Annacia's Note:

This robust chili will take the chill off on a cold winter night.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 lbs vegetarian ground beef , substitute
• 1 ½ cups chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves , peeled and minced
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned-15 ounces)
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried cilantro (good) (optional)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼-½ teaspoon grounddried chipotle peppers or ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) or 2 -3 dashes hot sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• ½-1 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans or 1 (15 ounce) can black beans , well-drained
• vegetarian cheddar cheese (optional)
• lime zest (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, warm the veggie burger a bit.
2. Add the chopped onion, and cook until the onion is soft and the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, peppers, spices, and cornmeal, stirring to combine and allowing to simmer for about 1 minute, just till everything is hot.
3. Spoon the chili into an ovenproof 2- to 2 1/2-quart crock or casserole dish; add sufficient water to cover.
4. Cover the dish, with a lid or foil, and bake the chili in a preheated 275°F oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Stir the chili after 1 hour, adding a bit of tomato juice or water if most of the liquid has evaporated, and it seems dry.
6. Half an hour before serving, stir in the beans, and cook until heated through. Garnish the chili with fresh cilantro and and grated veggie cheese (with a bit of lime zest added to it), if desired.

Reviews

[Redsie]

Annacia... I cheated... I didn't used vegeterian ground beef... used the real kind... This made for a delicious spicy chili. The smell was heavenly and the taste too!! Used fresh kidney beans that my DBF prepared for me. Made for Photo Tag. Thanks Annacia! :)

[Claudia Dawn]

This was Good - with a capital G! I used ground turkey, 1 can regular diced tomatoes and 1 can Rotel, and 1 can of red kidney beans plus 1 can of black beans. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. We like it hot, so after tasting mid-way through, I added more cayenne. The perfect comfort soup for those cold winter days.

[ellie_]

Very good chili which my family enjoyed -- however I cheated too used half ground beef and half vegi crumbles. I also used regular cheese. I also misread the directions and added the beans when the chili first went in the oven -- very good chili which makes a lot! Thanks for sharing!