Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili

The weather may be heating up, but I can't give up my soups and chilis just yet! I just love the convenience of throwing a bunch of ingredients into a single pot for a quick, tasty, and nutrition-packed meal.

Last night, I combined veggies with some black beans, quinoa, and spices. Of course, I also added in my all time favorite chili ingredient: roasted chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  It turned into one heck of a delicious vegan meal!

Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Total time: 35 minutes
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans (or roughly 1.5 cups fresh cooked)
• 1 (15 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1.5 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

Saute garlic, onion, sweet potato, carrots, and bell pepper in olive oil until onions are soft (about 5 minutes).

Add spices and remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 20-25 minutes, until vegetables and quinoa are cooked.

Top with garnishes of your choice - avocado, cheese (we used Daiya non-dairy), green onions, etc.

I love how thick and filling this soup turned out.  Even through the cold weather is on its way out, this recipe is here to stay!

Jay's Birthday and a Tempeh Chili Recipe

It is Jay's 30th birthday weekend, and we have had a great time celebrating!  Friday after work, we met up with friends and headed straight down to a big casino on the Oklahoma/Texas border to see comedian Aziz Ansari (from Parks and Recreation).  He is SO funny, and we loved the show!

We booked a hotel room for the night and had a blast hanging out and exploring the casino before and after the show.  The place was over a mile long - it was insane!  We found some live music and danced until way past our bedtimes.

Yesterday was Jay's actual birthday, but, after such an eventful Friday night, he requested a low-key night in with chili and a movie.  I tried a new recipe that was similar to the chipotle chili I made over Christmas, but I changed up a few ingredients and used tempeh instead of beef.  It was a big hit with the birthday boy!

Vegan Tempeh Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil for sauteing 

1 8 oz. package tempeh, crumbled
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

1-2 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (28 oz.) diced fire roasted tomatoes and juices
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste
1 cup dark beer

1/2 cup water (if more liquid is needed)
Toppings of your choice (We used chopped jalapeno, green onions, radishes, and cilantro.)

In a large pot, heat your olive oil over medium heat.  Add tempeh, onions, garlic, and green pepper and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the chipotle peppers and cook for another minute or two.  Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and dark beer/water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about one hour.  This gives the tempeh plenty of time to soak up all the flavors!  Garnish with toppings of your choice.  Yum!

It is currently snowing once again here in OKC, so it looks like a relaxing Sunday at home is in my future. If the roads aren't too bad, we may venture out this evening to watch the Superbowl with friends.  I could care less about football, but I always tune in for the commercials and the halftime show!  Have a great day!

Weekend Update and a Chipotle Chili Recipe

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!  For us, this whole week has been one big ongoing holiday.  My cousin and his wife flew in from D.C. late on Christmas Eve, and Jay's brother came in late on Thursday from California.  So, despite enjoying a relatively low-key (but very nice) Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the family activities have continued full-force.

With my step-sister and her husband on Christmas Day. 

On Friday, we enjoyed a nice breakfast out with my family.  My cousin, Trace, and I have always been close, and it was great to catch up with him and his wife, Agata.

Later that evening, we had Jay's brother, dad, and dad's girlfriend over for a casual chili dinner.  I had originally planned to make a roasted red-pepper chili recipe I found online, but the grocery store I stopped at didn't have the key ingredient, so it turned into a chipotle chili instead.  I sort of winged it with the recipe, but I'm glad I wrote down what I used because it turned out great!  The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce were definitely the star.  You can find these in a can near the Mexican foods, and a little goes a long way.  I never use the whole can at once, so I just freeze the extra in a little Pyrex or zip-lock bag for future use.

Hearty Chipotle Chili

1 lb grass fed beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
2 cans black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (undrained)

1 (14.5 ounce) can of regular diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
Salt (to taste)

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, diced jalapeno, greek yogurt, avocado, etc. 

In large pan, cook beef, onion and green pepper until meat is browned. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes (or longer).  Add toppings and enjoy!

The festivities continued yesterday, starting with a breakfast with one of my dear friends from college.  We went almost directly from there to a lunch at Jay's grandpa's, and then had more family and friends (and Madison the pug) over in the afternoon for drinks and board games.  The party continued well into the night, and somehow along the line it morphed into a karaoke fest.  We had a blast!

Today began with a pancake breakfast at Jay's grandma's followed by naps all around. While all of these gatherings have been so much fun, I definitely have not been eating (or drinking) in my usual healthy way.  I will be glad when things calm down a little bit and I can go back to cooking my own meals!  But for now I am just going to enjoy what's left of the holiday break.  Cheers!