Tried Again and Again Black Bean Chili

I love me some chili! Growing up, it was difficult to find vegetarian chili - it was literally non-existent - but as of recent, it's all over the place.  Even the ever famous Ben's Chili Bowl has a vegetarian chili which many say is even better than their regular chili. So after several go arounds, I think I've found a recipe that both my husband and I LOVE.  Here you go, enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked black beans 

1/2 cup frozen roasted corn (Trader Joes)

1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 green pepper (diced)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup Morningstar meatless soy crumbles

1 cup veggie broth

 teaspoons spicy taco seasoning

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 tablespoon serrano peppers minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

For the garnish:

chopped scallion

chopped cilantro

chunky salsa

cotija cheese (or any other cheese)

Greek yogurt or sour cream
Diced avocado

Corn bread!

The method:

The key is to get all the veggies to be the same size (so they cook evenly), and you can get a bunch in one bite into your mouth!  Heat oil in a deep pot that also has a lid, on medium high flame; add onions, cook until tender, add garlic, cook through.  Add peppers, carrots and frozen corn - cover pot to trap heat - this will also allow the vegetables to cook quickly.  Add soy crumbles and allow them to separate with help from the heat.  After a few moments add the veggie broth, can of diced tomatoes and the beans to the pot, stir to mix all ingredients.  Add spicy taco seasoning, cumin and red chili powder, serrano peppers, stir and cover.  Reduce heat to med-low flame and allow the chili to simmer and the ingredients to blend with each other.  

Serve hot with garnishes, enjoy! 

Note: You will probably need to adjust the seasonings based on your taste buds.  Also, I didn't add salt because the diced tomato, beans and Morningstar crumbles all have some salt added to them - and once you add the garnish it becomes a little saltier.