Veggie Chili

Last night I decided to can some veggie chili for our trip to Yellowstone. I'm trying to get as much pre-cooking done before we leave. And since I'm not real keen on the thought of 1) meat sitting in the cooler to for days and 2) bears eating my food I've decided to can our meals making most of them veggie friendly.

I was talking to my mother the other day and laughing because the tomatoes you see above are heirlooms that I got a Mother Earth Gardens http://www.motherearthgarden.com/. I forgot what kind of tomatoes they were and kept waiting for them to get red. Whoops! Anyways, I decided to add a few to our chili last night. Aren't they beautiful???

Veggie Chili
2 cans chili beans or kidney bean
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 yellow onion
3-4 carrots

2 chipotles in adobo sauce

about 2 TBL of oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 peppers of your choice
chili powder
cumin
2-3 bay leaves
lemon juice

salt and pepper

• Saute onions, garlic and spices with oil till onions are translucent
• Add carrots, zucchini and peppers (including chipotles)
• Once everything has cooked down a little add beans (with juice) and tomatoes (with juice)
• Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
• Serve with cornbread

Here is the finished product. Not too bad for 2 hours of work. I really love canning and have noticed how practical it is especially in a two person household. I don't have a pressure cooker so I can't do meat yet, but soups are on the idea list. I also think I might try some chutneys when we get back.