Rainbow Veggie Chilli

November was the month of floods …

Our garden under water last week!

And December looks like it’s going to be a month of deep freeze….

So, from now on, I’ll be cooking lots of hearty, warming dishes that will fuel us through this cold snap.

One of my favourite cold weather dishes has got to be Mexican chilli.  As well as warming us up, I love to make a chilli filled with colours that stimulate our senses. Aren’t veggies beautiful? Just seeing all those colours is enough to put a big smile on my face 🙂

So here’s how I make our ‘Rainbow’ Chilli…

[print_this]

Serves: 4
Hands on time: 20 minutes    Ready in: 55 minutes

Ingredients
1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion (130g), finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 tsp garlic paste)
1 medium bell pepper (200g) deseeded and diced (or use a mix of red, yellow and green pepper pieces for extra colour)
1 medium carrot (90g), quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
½ medium courgette (zucchini) (100g), quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
chilli powder, to taste (use ½ tsp mild chilli for children)
85g / ½ cup sweetcorn
125g / 1½ cup mushrooms, diced
400g / 14 oz can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
180g / 2 cups meat-free mince (or substitute with 400g / 14 oz can of black beans)
400g / 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
120ml / ½ cup vegetable stock (broth)
2 TBSP tomato purée (paste)
1 tsp unrefined sugar
½ tsp salt

Method

1. Gently heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and cook the onion until it starts to soften. Meanwhile, chop the remaining veggies.

2. Add the garlic, bell pepper, carrots, courgette and spices to the pan, and cook for a couple of minutes. If serving to children, begin by adding ½ tsp mild chilli powder.

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, partially cover with a lid and gently simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the carrot is tender.

4. When the veggies are cook through, remove any children’s portions and add more chilli powder, to taste.

5. Leftover chilli will keep for a couple days in the refrigerator. It also freezes well. If using meat-free mince, be sure to check the storage instructions on the packet.

6. We love to serve this dish with cornbread, which we bake while the chilli is simmering.

[/print_this]

Delicious!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Stay warm & dry 🙂 xx

11 thoughts on “Rainbow Veggie Chilli

  1. I love all of those colors in the veggie bowl…indeed a smile does come to your face.

    Your chili looks perfectly delectable. This time of year is quite suited to warm bowls of soup/chili.

    Hopefully you won’t have a complete freeze so that things would be dangerous…maybe just enough to make for some pretty pictures.

    I hope things have been going well for you, M, and Lil’ L. It is amazing how quickly Christmas will be here and yet I am not prepared at all (although I do have a Christmas tree up). I am quite in the mood for the holiday, but it seems there is always something else that needs to be done BESIDES decorating the house.

    Hopefully this weekend I will get to make some holiday cookies and do a little bit of decorating 🙂

    1. Our Christmas Tree is finally up, which is lovely as the house looks far cosier with the tree & fairy lights. I wasn’t feeling particularly festive, but reading people’s blog posts is starting to really get me in the mood 🙂 This weekend I need to write the Christmas Cards and finish the Christmas shopping. I’ve still got lots of presents to buy!

    1. Fortunately the floods didn’t reach our house, so we’re absolutely fine. The garden’s drying out too, so no damage done.
      It was pretty spectacular to see all the fields flooded. I started to feel like I was living next to a lake! Now the water’s gone and the fields are covered in frost. Yet another spectacular view! I feel so grateful to live next to such a beautiful piece of countryside. Such a shame that the local council keeps trying to build a car park on it 🙁

  2. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that is your yard! Hopefully it didn’t affect your house? And now freezing temps? Geez, it is just relentless this season!
    Good thing for beautiful, hearty, warm meals like that beautiful chili! I love that photo with all the colors. I always make it a little challenge to see how many veggies I can add to my chili–sometimes there are far more veggies than beans in it! Yum! One of my all-time favorite meals in the winter. I hope that weather settles down a bit for you–you deserve it!

    1. It’s freezing cold here at the moment but at least it’s dry! The countryside is looking really beautiful in the mornings, with the trees & fields covered in frost. I’m starting to feel like I’m in Narnia 😉

  3. I LOVED this recipe! I tried in yesterday night and it was so perfect! I ended up adding a good deal of cayenne, paprika, chili powder and cumin to it and I love how the flavors complement the veggies! I also have some organic corn tortillas that I am currently toasting up, per your suggestion! I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, those other tips will definitely come in handy and I will be one prepared mama. Thank you SO MUCH! BEST RECIPE EVER!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.