Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, chopped, or 4 spoonfuls of minced garlic
3 (14½ ounce) cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 (4 ounce) can diced mild green chilies
2 cans organic kidney beans, drained
2 green bell peppers, cut into ½-inch pieces
Boxed vegetable broth
Sea salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and oregano, to taste

Directions:
1. Chop the onion and garlic and add to a pot with enough vegetable broth to cover the bottom. Steam on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes with juices, green chilies, chili powder, cumin and oregano to taste. Cook 10 minutes on medium-high heat to blend flavors. Use this time to clean and cut the green peppers.
3. Add beans and bell peppers to pot.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chili is thick, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with your favorite garnishes.

Variations:
Zucchini, corn and mushrooms are also nice additions; add them or use them in place of the green peppers. You can also use other beans, such as black beans, garbanzo and red beans. For a meaty texture, add ground soy meat when you add the beans and peppers.
To make it even heartier, serve with quinoa elbow macaroni or jasmine rice. If you do not want a spicy chili, leave out the green chilies and go easy on the chili powder.
To serve, top with shredded rice cheese, sliced avocado, chopped onions or chives, or keep it simple and garnish with cilantro.