The Great Chili Cook-Off

Drum roll please....... and the winner of the Beaverton SDA Church chili cook-off, held at the Annual Barn Party is..... Delicia!

Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic... but I am still excited just the same. On my sister's urging, I entered a chili in the Chili-cook off contest at our annual Barn Party and was surprised to take home the prize. Surprised because it was a vegetarian chili contest and I'm not well versed in cooking vegetarian food. So, I hoped on line, grabbed a couple recipes, picked and chose from the spice cabinet and away I went. Things went well, until I had a slight mishap with the temperature control... as it turns out, level 4 is considerably higher then "Low", and will burn your chili. Thank goodness I was able to save it with my mystery ingredient... peanut butter. Shocking, but delicious. I think it was a blessing in disguise, because the addition of this secret ingredient made the chili very unique and tasty. I wanted to share the recipe because it's packed with veggies and very good for the weather we're having right now. Even meat lovers will enjoy this meal. It's super hearty and very robust.

Delicia's Veggie Chili

2 Tbsp oil
1 large (softball size) onion, diced
1-2 Serrano chilies, seeded and minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
3-5 cloves of garlic, minced (depends on your preference)
1 medium zucchini, cubed into 1/2" cubes
4 portabello mushroom caps, stemmed and cleaned, then cubed
3 Tbsp chili powder (I used 2 Tbsp regular and 1 Tbsp chipotle chili powder)
2 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp Alderwood Smoked salt
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red chili flakes
28oz crushed tomatoes
15oz tomato sauce
2 cups veggie stock
1 can each black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 - 1/2 c peanut butter - taste

Saute the onions, garlic and peppers in the oil until soft and slightly browned on the edges. While these are going, saute the cubed portabellos until slightly golden. If you don't want to do this separately, remove the gills of the mushrooms before you cube them because they will muddy your chili if cooked all together.

Add the zucchini and already sauteed mushrooms (or raw mushrooms with gills removed) to the onions and peppers and cook until the zucchini is tender. Add your spices and toss to coat evenly. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the beans and combine thoroughly. Simmer for 20 min or until thick.

Add the peanut butter and stir to melt. Taste and season to taste. This is a thick chili and your serving spoon should be able to stand up in it.

Enjoy!