Vegetarian Chili

I bought this 5 lb container of beans at Costco a couple of months ago.  It's a gourmet bean blend, and it's fabulous!  It's got split green peas, french navy beans, split yellow peas, pinto beans, yellow eye steuben beans, black turtle beans, green lentils, and small red beans.  I love all of the colors, tastes, and textures!

There's a recipe for chili on the label, so I gave it a try.  Delicious!

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2 c chopped onions
• 2 medium red bell peppers, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tb chili powder
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 c cooked beans
• 1 c reserved liquid from cooking beans
• 1 can tomato sauce (16 oz)
• For garnish: cilantro, sour cream, cheese, chopped green onions

Heat oil in a heavy, large bottom sauce pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic.  Saute until soft.  Add chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes.  Mix in the cooked beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean cooking liquid, and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil. stir, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, about 20-30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Obviously, you can use canned beans or a single dry bean instead of the bean blend.  You can also buy bean blends in the dry bean aisle if you don't have access to a Costco. 

I've played around with some of the seasonings, used green peppers instead of red peppers, added chili peppers, used fresh tomatoes, etc.  This is a good base to start your chili with, then season it how you like it!