1 (28oz) can peeled whole tomatoes with their juices
1/2 cup frozen corn
salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients minus the beans- they were draining in the sink
In a large heavy bottom pot heat the oil over medium high heat. Add in the onion and saute for 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the spice and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the coffee, soy sauce, cacao powder and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chipotles and tomatoes with their juice; bring up to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the corn and cover and cook 15 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
I have exciting news! I have started a new project creating my first e-book. I am really excited about it and have been busy working on recipes and getting my testing site up. I have a great group of testers who have jumped right in and have been providing great feedback. So what exactly is this e-book all about?
If you guessed soups, stews and chili’s then you are correct! This first ever Cook.Vegan.Lover. e-book will be filled with a wonderful variety of soups, stews and chili’s to warm you up this fall and winter. I hope to have it completed by mid-November.
I used to eat oats all the time but lately I’ve been having soyogurt, scones and green juice but finally yesterday I returned to my old friend oats, if only it could have been oats in a jar. I also had oats this morning as well and I think tomorrow OIAJ will happen.
On Monday I got home from work to find my Easy Lunch Boxes sample had arrived and I couldn’t wait to try them out. My husband and I bring lunch everyday to work because it’s healthier, cheaper and easier than going out for lunch, besides the fact that we don’t really have time to go out for lunch during the work week. I have to say one of the hardest things at our house however is finding containers to pack our food into. The Hubz We are notorious for leaving our tupperware at work or in the car so it is nice to finally have some new ones.
I went right to work putting together my lunches for the week and because they stack so great I could just stick them in the fridge and grab them when I head out the door. This makes like so much easier because I don’t have to get up in the morning and make lunch or do it the night before they are all ready to go. I also received a cute purple lunch box that fits the containers perfectly- I think this is my first real lunch box since elementary school. If you check back later today I think there might be a giveaway post for your own chance to win these eco friendly lunch boxes.
For my lunches this week we have some fruit, salad and the most delicious GF vegan raw sprouted crackers from Livin’ Spoonfuls I have ever tasted. I tried the coconut curry yesterday and they were amazing I am sure I will post more about these later.
Dinner last night was delicious and filled with healthier versions of two of my favorite things- chili and quesadillas. I know I have blogged about these before but Maria and Ricardo’s Low Carb Tortillas are my favorite tortillas for a few reasons they are low in calories, fat and carbs and are made with ingredients that are all natural.
In my quesadillas I put some scallions and a serving of cheddar Daiya cheese- I couldn’t hold myself back from buying it the other day when I saw that it was on sale for $2 off. We tried the mozza a few weeks ago and I decided that a sale was a good excuse reason to try the cheddar; I think I am a bigger fan of the cheddar so far.
To go with our quesadillas I made up some chili with kidney and black beans that I had soaked the night before and I added a bunch of great veggies to it including mustard greens.
Beans and Greens Chili
Ingredients:
1/2T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1.5 cups cooked kidney beans
1.5 cups cooked black beans
1T tomato paste
2 t cumin
1 t paprika
1/2 t oregano
1T nutritional yeast
2t chili powder
dash of cayenne
1t garlic powder
1t onion powder
1/2t salt
1/4t black pepper
3 cups mustard greens, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1T chipotle hot sauce or 1t chipotle chili powder (optional)
Directions:
In a medium pot heat the oil over medium-high and add in the onion and carrots; saute for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute. Add in the vegetable broth, tomato paste and beans and bring to a boil; turn down to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes. While the beans simmer mix the cumin, paprika, oregano, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder salt and pepper with 2T of water to make a paste. Stir the spice paste into the beans and then top with the mustard greens and cover; let the greens wilt. Stir in the greens and scallions. At this point you can eat as is or if you want you can add in the chipotle hot sauce or chipotle chili powder- I think that with the beans and greens this smoky flavor and heat is a great addition to the chili but it is yummy without it as well.
I have been enjoying a variety of Food Should Taste Good Chips and am loving them. First, Food Should Taste Good has some of my favorite packaging it is simple, clean and yet eye catching. Food Should Taste Good makes a great variety of tortilla chips that are all natural, gluten free and lactose free, and GMO free. Once you have picked up a bag of these flip it over and you will see that there are very few ingredients and all of the ingredients are very common and all natural. I haven’t tried all of them yet but I have tired Multigrain, The Works!, Sweet Potato, Potato & Chive and Cinnamon all of which are delicious and I am sure the other 6 I have yet to try are just as tasty.
Great Pairings:
Mutligran and The Works! go great with savory salsas
Potato & Chive is yummy with a nice french onion or ranch dip
Cinnamon would go great with a fruit salsa
Lastly the Sweet Potato is my favorite and goes amazing with chili, it is a great balance of sweet with a spicy chili. My favorite chili recipe to go with these chips is:
In a heavy bottom pot heat the canola oil on high and add the onions and garlic, sautee for a minute, then turn down to med high and sautee until onions are translucent. Add the spices (cumin-nutritional yeast) and stir together and cook for 1 min. Add the tomatoes, beans and lentils and maple syrup. Stir well and cook on medium for 10 minutes. Add the hot sauce and corn and cook until heated through.
This makes a very thick chili so if you like yours thinner then add a little vegetable broth.