Its been a wet week here in New York and it made going out this past weekend very uninspiring.  So Friday night we had Mike’s brother, Anthony and a couple of friends over to hang out and watch a movie.  Since we were going to be sitting in front of a television I wanted to make something really easy to serve with the least amount of dishware.  I instantly thought of my go-to veggie chili that I found about a year ago in Food and Wine magazine and some  Trader Joe’s cornbread. I know, everyone asks how you can do chili without meat?  But trust me when I say that this is delicious, hearty and the biggest of meat eaters I know have tried and loved it!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into i/2 in pieces
• 5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup corn kernels (frozen)
• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion and jalapeno.  Saute until onion is slightly translucent, about 4 minutes
2. Add the sweet potato, broccoli and spices, then stir until powders evenly coat vegetables.  Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add bell peppers and corn, then stir.  Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Add tomatoes and black beans.  Simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes.

As any chili I think that it tastes better the longer the flavors stew together.  So if you have a little more time I’d let it simmer for closer to an hour.

Per serving: 200 calories, 4g fat, 8g protein, 35g carbohydrate, 10g fiber

This recipe can feed an army!  Even with 5 people who all went in for seconds, I still had plenty of leftovers.  This made Mike extremely happy because he’ll wrap some in a tortilla for a snack and take it to work for lunch the whole week.

Happy “Chiling!”