chili and polenta

I made chili tonight for dinner

It's pretty straight forward, and super simple, but we really like it around here, so I figured I would post the recipe:

1 lg onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lg green pepper
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (or 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained, and whirred in the blender)
2 C dried red kidney beans, cooked
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 batch chili powder*
1 C granulated TVP
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 C veg broth

Sauté the onion until translucent, add the garlic and sauté a minute or two more, add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer gently for about an hour. Serve with cornbread or polenta fries. - Enjoy!



Chili powder:

1/8 - 1/2 tsp cayenne*
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder

Throw everything into the spice grinder and whir.


Polenta fries are just this done to this (using veggie stock, and about half the salt) I say 'just' but they are AMAZING!



*because neither I nor the Llama are big fans of super spicy stuff, we opt for the minimal amount of cayenne. Feel to increase the amount to fit your tastes. The Llama Papa is fond of adding a spoon full of red pepper flakes to his bowl of chili.