Veggie Chili week is exciting.

I got this recipe from Food Network and Emeril Lagasse (full recipe here).

I love turkey chili because it is hearty and cozy and full of protein…but since the permanent roommate is vegetarian, I wanted to see if I could find a vegetarian recipe that created the same warm and fuzzies.  With an additional dose of quinoa for protein, this recipe pretty much does the job.

I also love that I can transform this into 4 different meals (especially since this recipe makes A LOT!)

Day 1: Chili + cornbread (standard cornbread in a box mix)

Day 2: Nachos supreme (add avocado, green onions, salsa, chips and cheese)

Day 3: Stuffed Baked (Sweet) Potato (bake 1 sweet potato, cut it in half, scoop out some of the center and mix in with chili, add cheese, sour cream and green onions)

Day 4: Sloppy Joes (the meaty part of the chili in between two sweet hawaiian buns – so easy)

Finally I love this recipe because it follows the basic tenants of cooking that every indian mom teaches their daughter at some point: sautee onions, garlic and some spices, add/cook veggies and finish off with the things that need the least time to cook (in this case beans, tomatoes and stock).

My notes:

– Rinse the canned beans well to avoid the toots

– Add about 1/2 cup of dry quinoa right after you add the stock and let it simmer for an additional 10 min (so 30 min total)

– for 2 people, you can easily freeze half of the pot and have plenty leftover to make the 3 other meals for the week.

– didn’t need the brown rice or the “essence”