Winter Chilis

Last Sunday I made some awesome veggie chili from scratch, dried beans and all. Today I made some veggie white chili. They are not super unique recipes but I am going to post them here for future reference. Amounts are approximate since I tend to just add things as I see fit. The first recipe was adapted from this one and the second was much more free form.

Veggie Chili
1/2 cup TVP (soaked and drained, optional)
1/2 cup of frozen diced onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup dried red kidney beans (soaked overnight)
1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight)
1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 can diced tomatoes with chilis with juice
1 orange bell pepper, diced
about 6 baby carrots, diced
1/2 cup or so cauliflower florets
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a squeeze of honey
salt and pepper to taste
a little olive oil
1 cup water or broth (or more if needed)

Saute onion, garlic and tvp in olive oil until browned. Stir in all seasonings. Stir in everything else except tomatoes. Simmer stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until beans are soft. Add tomatoes and simmer another 20 minutes or so. Add extra seasonings if needed. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.
Note: adding the tomatoes later allows the beans to soften faster.

White Veggie Chili
1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight)
1 1/2 cups or so frozen sweet corn (from grandma's farm preferably)
2 frozen roasted hot peppers from my garden (or canned chilis will work too)
1 cup leftover brown and wild rice
1/2 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup frozen diced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups or so broth
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
a little plain yogurt or sour cream

For this one I just put everything into my crockpot and turned it on high for 4-5 hours. Add the yogurt or sour cream at the end. Cheese might be nice too.

yummy winter food!

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe here but these were so good I felt I needed to share. The first is a Moroccan Lentil Stew adapted from this recipe. The second is the veggie dish I made for Thanksgiving. Both are vegan (if you use olive oil instead of butter for the latter) crockpot recipes. Great for winter!

Moroccan Lentil Stew

-3/4 cup dried lentils
-1/2 can garbanzo beans
-2 sweet potatoes chopped into 2 inch chunks
-an equal amount of another veggie (I used broccoli but zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peas, etc. would be good too)
-3 1/4 cups water
-1 veggie bouillon cube
-1 t cumin
-1 t ginger
-1 t salt
-1 t pepper
-1/2 t cinnamon
-1/2 t coriander
-1/2 t allspice
-1/4 t cloves


Chop up all of your vegetables and add them to the crockpot. Drain and rinse off the beans, add to the pot. Add the dried lentils and the dried spices. Stir in the water and bouillon (or use broth instead). Lentils will be softer if you add any tomatoes and salt at the very end.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Soup tastes best the longer you cook it, and it is even better the next day.



Roasted Root Veggies

-1 rutabaga
-1 bag of whole carrots
-2 parsnips
-1 bunch of chopped fresh parsley
-4 Tbsp butter (I didn't measure so I'm guessing at this amount)
-1/4 chopped white onion
-2 or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
-salt and pepper to taste


Peel all of your vegetables, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Saute onion and garlic in the butter on the stove until they are soft. Pour over veggies and parsley in a big bowl and mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour it all into crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.