Whoa! It has been over 9 months since I have
written a new post. I used to write
blogs while I was bored at my old, not so cool job, but now I have a job that I
love at The Cleveland Foodbank, so no time to blog at work. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking and
coming up with new delicious vegan treats that will trick all of the biggest
veg critics.
So it is now football season again
and as an avid Food Network/ Cooking Channel/ Football watcher I can’t help but
be sucked into all the shows about football tailgate parties and burger
fests. I have realized there is not a
lot that annoys me more than everyone’s weird obsession with bacon. I mean I agree as much as the next person
that salty, savory, things are delicious, but this is just getting to a bizarre
level. It is becoming the US of
Bacon. And if you don’t like Bacon you
are somehow seen as less American.
So 2 years ago it was cool to like avocado
so it was on everything, avocado sandwiches, hair products, burgers, and even
avocado soup (which will forever be gross to me). Now don’t get me wrong I love avocados, but
these over the top food trends are starting to wear on me. When I saw the 4th
bacon special in a row (I know it took me 4 for it be a line crosser, but I am a
sucker for comfort food so it takes a while) and someone created a bacon chili,
consisting of loads of hamburger, pounds of bacon, topped with more bacon,
wrapped in bacon, and then served with glazed bacon, I realized it was time for
me to give football fans a chili recipe that is tasty, but not so trendy. (Now I am cool right? Rebelling against what is trendy? ---that’s the goal!)
So last night, knowing that today
was the season opener for The Browns, I preemptively made a huge pot of delicious
chili that will fool any bacon chili lover into eating their veggies and loving
them. No serious business this veggie based, black bean, sweet potato masterpiece
sounds weird but tastes awesome and is SO healthy, but no one has to know
that. There is not a better way than losing
football friend fans than telling them you made them something healthy, so keep
it a secret. Tell them you made them your secret, super fattening, triple meat
chili and they will be none the wiser.
Ingredients: (Ok this is going to sound like a lot of things, but
it is a GREAT use up for veggies left over in your fridge, if you have other
things that you want/ need to use throw them in. As long as you use the recommended spices it
will be yummy and taste like awesome chili)
·
2 table spoons vegan butter
·
2 small sweet onions- finely diced
·
1 green pepper- diced
·
1 yellow, red, or orange pepper- diced
·
2 large carrots- finely diced
·
2 stalks of celery- diced
·
3 table spoons of pre-diced garlic
o
Keeping the big jars of garlic on hand saves
your prep time and the smelly fingers.
·
12 crimini mushrooms halved and then sliced. (If
you don’t have crimini use your favorite)
·
1 half of a large sweet potato, peeled and diced
o
Quick tip
for peeling a sweet potato: because they are very hard you can actually use
your spoon to scrap the skin off the outside and you don’t lose any of the
yummy orange potato.
·
1 Can of Black Beans
·
1 can fire roasted tomatoes chopped or crushed
·
1 can tomato sauce
·
1 cup of spicy tomato juice
·
Agave Nector to Taste
** Don’t use the gimme lean that comes in a
tube, even though I love their sausage their ground beef tastes like cardboard.
L**
·
Spices:
o
Onion Powder- 2 teaspoons
o
Garlic Powder- 2 teaspoons
o
Bragg’s Amino Acids or Soy Sauce – 3 table
spoons
o
Chili Powder- 2 table spoons
o
Smoked Paprika- 1 table spoon (smoky taste will
make them think there are two pigs in the pot)
o
2 teaspoons Indian curry powder
o
Cumin- 2 table spoons (more meat fake out)
o
Basil- ½ tablespoon
o
Oregno – ½ tablespoon
o
Savory seasoning blend- ½ teaspoon
o
4 bay leaves
o
Vegan Beef Bouillon – 2-3 cubes, or 2-3
teaspoons (meat fake out trick of the week, but if you can’t find beef the
chicken will work too, no one will be able to taste the difference)
or 
o
Black Pepper- 1 table spoon
o
Crushed Red Pepper (if you like spice)- 2
teaspoons
Get to Cooking:
WARNING : If you are trying to impress the bacon loving
ground please chop all your veggies as small as possible that crowd, hates to
think they are eating some healthy. Even
if they love it and they see a big carrot they will probably tell you they don’t.
Start by melting the butter and adding in the carrots, celery, and onions. (If you are ever playing trivia and you are asked what the word “Mirepoix” pronounced “meer-pwah” means it is just that, chopped carrots, celery, and onions.)
Let them cook for about 5 minutes
stirring often, so they start to caramelize and gain some color. Next add in the mushrooms and left cook for
another 2 minutes. Then add half of all
the spices (So some of each- again to remind you I don’t usually measure spices
so if you want more of any one thing, then by all means add it, but be careful
with the smoked paprika if you add too much of that it will become bitter.) Let the spices coat all of the veggies that
you have added in then add the peppers. (If you add them at the beginning they
will become too mushy.)
Continue to cook over medium heat
until things starts sticking to the bottom (about 1-2 minutes) then add in all
of the tomato products and 2 cups of water, scrape the sticky stuff off the
bottom of the pan. Bring this mixture
back to a boil. After it reaches a slow
boil add the sweet potatoes, vegan ground beef, and black beans. Bring everything back up to a boil and add
the remaining spices and the agave nector. (By adding a little sweet it will
bring out all of the savory flavors.)
After everyone is in the pool then
you just have to continue to cook over medium low heat until the sweet potatoes
are cooked through, this should take about 15-20 minutes. After the potatoes
are soft (you can check by seeing if you can cut through one easily with a
spoon.) it is ready to eat. I suggest
serving this topped with vegan cheese, sour cream, and green onions with a few
corn chips on the side.
and 
When I make this recipe I am able
to eat on it for almost a week. A good
way to transform it is to eat it over nachos with melted diaya cheese, eat on
top of a baked potato, on a hot dog with some vegan slaw, or add a little taco
seasoning and have it in a shell!
This is a great way to eat your
veggies, feel full, and stay of a part of the cool bacon loving in crowd. Now
after they have eaten their 2nd or 3rd bowl, let them in
on the secret and watch their hilarious reactions! “Oh, I knew that the whole time!” “I knew it
tasted healthy!” or the best “Oh gross, I was just pretending I liked it.”
You will get the last laugh with
this recipe!!!
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