Rachael's Homemade Vegan/Vegetarian Chili

Chili! I love chili, especially during fall when it starts to get chilly outside (see what I did there?).  This recipe is one I've been messing with for a couple years and it continues to morph and change every time I make it.  It's vegan before you add the cheese or sour cream, and vegetarian either way. So it's a great dish to make for a group with a lot of different dietary preferences!

Chili with red onion, cheese, cilantro and sour cream topping!

Ingredients:

3-4 big carrots, finely shredded

1/2-1 Serrano pepper*, finely chopped (with seeds if you like spice, without seeds for mild)

1/2-1 Jalepeno pepper*, finely chopped (with seeds if you like spice, without seeds for mild)

1 bell pepper each of yellow, green, red, and orange; seeded and chopped

1 white onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes

2 cans black beans

3 cans kidney beans

vegetable broth

olive oil

cumin

chili powder
salt & pepper

* For a mild chili, you can add only 1/2 of these peppers without the seeds.  For a really spicy chili go for the whole pepper.  The seeds are what really give the pepper it's kick, so use about half the pepper and a few seeds if you'd like your chili somewhere in the middle. Remember it's always better to use too little, since you can always add more peppers as a topping to spice it up at the end.

-Finely shred the carrots or pulse in a food processor until very very finely chopped

-Saute carrot in a pan with some olive oil, a little salt and pepper and a dash of vegetable broth until it is thick and soft, with a pulp like consistency (this is what will thicken your chili)

-Move carrots to crockpot (or very large soup pot) 

-Saute all bell peppers, Jalepeno pepper, Serrano pepper, garlic and onion with 2 tablespoons cumin, a    dash of chili pepper and salt and pepper in olive oil. 

- Saute until soft and beginning to lightly brown/sear

- Move to crock pot

- Add cans of tomatoes to the crock pot and stir, adding cumin and chili pepper as needed, it should smell like chili

- Add all the cans of beans, including the liquid in to the crock pot

- Add vegetable broth if you like your chili a little thinner in consistency

- Cook on high for about 30 mins if you need to eat it soon or if you'd like it to stew a little (better flavor) set the crock pot to low for about 3-4 hours. 

Feel free to make it your own by adding or omitting different kinds of vegetables! Maybe don't use all 4 colors of bell pepper or you could add zucchini or spinach! You can also turn this into a meat-eater's dream by adding browned ground beef sauteed in cumin and chili powder. 

Toping options: chopped green onion, chopped red onion, cheese, crackers, crumbled tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream, chopped fresh Jalepeno, the sky is the limit!

Enjoy!