Vegetarian Chili

Let me tell you a cautionary tale about the importance of close reading.  I found a delicious-looking recipe for vegetarian chili in March 2011's issue of Triathlete Magazine (aspirational reading, okay?) and stuck it up on my refrigerator.  When I went to the grocery store, I was overly confident that I remembered the correct ingredient proportions, and this confidence spread over into the actual cooking process.  Long story short, I wound up with 12 servings of vegetarian chili instead of six (suspicions arose when I had to break out the stockpot because the normal-sized pot was too small, but at that point the commitment had been made).

So this is a recipe for a massive amount of veggie chili.  You could make less, but I'm not capable of doing that.  It's good though—leave out the bulgur for your gluten-free friends, put the bulgur in for an extra-nice texture.

You'll need:

1/2 cup bulgur, uncooked
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2 yellow squash, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 28-oz. can of diced tomatoes (I used Dei Fratelli)
2 15-oz. cans dark red kidney beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste

Heat 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan.  Add bulgur to the pot, stir, and cover.  Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, or until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.  Set aside.

In a stockpot (you're going to need a big pot, folks), heat the olive oil.  Sauté the onion until soft, then add garlic.  Combine well.  Add carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and bell peppers, stirring well.  Sauté until the vegetables just start to soften.  Add chili powder and cayenne pepper, stir until everything is well coated.  Add kidney beans and diced tomatoes, including liquid.  Stir well, reduce heat to medium-low (the mixture should just be bubbling), and cover.

Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables give way to a fork.  Not too long, or your veggies will be soggy and gross.  Add salt to taste (I used about 1 tbsp.).

You could serve it now, sans bulgur, or add the cooked bulgur and mix well.

See this container?  Get ready to have about a dozen of these.  Invite friends.

Happy eating!