I once found a random vegetarian chili recipe and with my own changes and additions it’s the only “chili’ recipe I make. I know that technically chili doesn’t have beans but for the sake of convenience, I call this chili. I’ve tried plenty of chili (especially with my old job and all the fire department chili cook-offs I attended), but I have stuck to this recipe or a slight variation of this recipe, ever since I tried making it. I generally make it without meat, but I am trying to up my protein intake so this time I added grass-fed ground beef.

Lulu’s Sometimes Vegetarian Chili

Makes approx. Seven, 1 cup servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, diced (comes in a can, I also like to add extra sauce from it as well)
• 1 TBSP + 1 tsp (or 5 tsp) Cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp paprikia
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Olive oil or bacon grease
• 1 pound grass fed ground beef (usually 80/20 around here) optional
• 1 bottle of beer (most anything would work, but I would stay away from chocolate stouts) or 12 ounces chicken or beef broth
• 1/4-1 cup chicken or beef broth for extra liquid if needed (I used about 1/3 cup)
• 1 can or 2 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, rinse and drain)
• 1 can or 1.5 cups cooked red kidney beans (if using canned, rinse and drain)

Directions:

• Heat oil or bacon grease in a large sauce pot
• Add onions, garlic, seasonings, and chipotle peppers – cook for a minute or two, until onions start to sweat
• Add bell pepper and ground beef – cook until beef is browned and cooked through
• Add your beer and beans and simmer for 15-30 minutes
• While cooking, add additional broth for desired liquid amount
• Serve with cheese, extra onions, or sour cream and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts:

I put in everything except the seasonings and pepper into Spark People’s Recipe Calculator and this is what it came up with (figures are just an approximation, I’m not sure how accurate the calculator is):

Ingredients calculated:

• Beans, black, 2 cup
• Beans, red kidney, 1.5 cup
• Ground beef, 16 oz
• Onions, raw, 207 grams
• Garlic, 15 grams
• Peppers, sweet, red, fresh, 1 cup, chopped
• *365 Organic Diced Tomatoes, 2 cup
• Beer – Lagunitas IPA, 12 oz
• *Campbell’s low sodium chicken broth, .5 cup
• Olive Oil, 2 1tsp

The stats:

Amount Per Serving
Calories		383.6
Total Fat		19.0 g
	Saturated Fat	7.3 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	8.5 g
Cholesterol		55.1 mg
Sodium		402.6 mg
Potassium		701.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		27.2 g
	Dietary Fiber	9.4 g
	Sugars	1.7 g
Protein		19.4 g