Vegetarian Chili

Here, as requested, is the low-fat vegetarian chili I made recently, as well as I can recall.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 med onion, diced

1 lg green bell pepper

4 small anaheim peppers

2 cans black beans

1 can red beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 qt bottled tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Using a 6 qt pot, saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Dice peppers and add to onions. When peppers are softened, add drained and rinsed beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, and garlic powder. Add bottled tomatoes, and turn up the heat until bubbly. Turn down and simmer for a while. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

I use Sherol's home bottled tomatoes. They are like crushed tomatoes and are very, very liquidy. So I didn't add any additional liquid. If you don't have bottled tomatoes, then use two cans of diced or crushed tomatoes and add liquid as necessary. I would use tomato juice, chicken broth, or water.

I also use peppers from Sherol's garden. They have been preserved by blackening the skin (propane torch or broiler oven) on all sides, then put in a plastic bag while hot to sweat off the skins. Remove the skins, roll individually in saran wrap, and freeze. If you want the nice smokiness that this adds, you can blacken and skin your peppers before adding them to your chili. If you don't want to go to all that effort, then try a little liquid smoke. Or use store-bought canned green chilies. A nice way to add smokey flavor and some heat is to use a canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced.