Rainbow Vegetarian Chili

In the spirit of Pride Week last week, I thought I would make some of my Rainbow Chili. The variety of veggies is what gives the chili its colors and its variety of vitamins! It takes a little time, but it's super simple, and you can leave it on the stove while it simmers. It makes about 8 servings, so unless your family members are garbage disposals like my husband or you have a large family, this dish makes lots of leftovers.


Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3-4 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
cumin, to taste
oregano, to taste
3/4 cup faux ground beef
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can chipotle tomatoes
1 cup dry or off-dry white wine or rose (or veggie stock or water)
2/3 cup dry pinto beans
2/3 cup dry kidney beans
2/3 cup dry black beans
salt and pepper, to taste

Prep beans: Rinse beans and check for debree (I once found a little pebble in some lentils, so don't skip this step!) Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil and boil beans for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. Bring another 6-8 cups of water to a boil and cook beans for 1 1/2-2 hours (check after the first hour, sometimes the beans don't even need a full 1 1/2 hours). Or just get canned beans and rinse.

Meanwhile, prep veggies and start cooking the chili: Heat a large saucepot with about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Throw in onions and carrots and season with dashes or cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add garlic after about one minute. Cook five minutes and add peppers. Add a little more seasoning. Cook about another five minutes or until onions are translucent, then add faux beef and spices. I use frozen, so I cook until it is thawed. If you prefer refrigerated, then just warm it through.

The next couple steps are my favorite, just through ingredients in the pot and leave it alone for awhile. First add both cans of tomatoes (or make your own for an even healthier version), wine, and spices. Let simmer for about 25 minutes.

Then add beans and spices and let simmer for 15-20 minutes (to let all the flavors seep in).

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and put the ROY back in your ROY G BIV!

Note: These are my tried and true veggies, but sometimes I throw in other ingredients. Corn is another good one and so is celery. To round out the spectrum, you could try adding eggplant.