Chili Cook Off

After months of planning, meetings, talking with local business owners, and hours and hours of cataloging, organizing and getting things ready. The day of the Chili Cook off (which is a fundraiser for our school) finally arrived. There were a lot of very talented and dedicated people who helped make the fundraiser a success and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
It was exciting to see the community come together toward a common goal. The money raised goes directly to the dedicated teachers who help us educate our children. The hours that I spent at the school were tiring and I have to admit that I am glad that it is over! But the thank-yous that I heard from all the teachers made it worth it!
My husband and I entered our Vegetarian Chili again this year and won third place (again) against nine other local chili makers. There were 500+ people in attendance with enough chili to feed everyone. That's a lot of chili!!

Here is the recipe adapted from a chili recipe from allrecipes.com

VEGETARIAN CHILI

INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Chalot, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 sliced dried chilies (soaked)
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (also cayenne if desired)
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 package green giant frozen corn (non-buttered)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 342 Total Fat: 7.7g Cholesterol: 0mg