Vegetarian Chili

 Yum. A very enjoyable vegetarian meal. I temporarily gave up meat, not sure if ill go back. But I was starting to feel like everything I was eating was cold. I needed a warm up! So, I made up this chili recipe. My husband (a meat eater) and I were both very pleased with the outcome.

Ingredients

1 bag Kidney Beans
1 bag Barley
1 bag Lentils
3 cups fresh Spinach or 1pkg frozen
3-4 Large or small bag baby Carrots
1 Yellow Onion
15 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Box Vegetable Broth
2-3 Tbsp low sodium Chili Powder
3Tbsp hot sauce or a jalapeno pepper (or both)
Pecorino Romano
Cheddar cheese 
Pasta (optional)

Now, I used chicken broth because Im used to it and didn't think about the the fact that it comes from chicken. Haha. Next time I will use vegetable broth.

Also, I suggest not using dried beans, barley, ect. because they take FOREVER to cook. Whole Foods sells these ingredients in the freezer section. They are totally precooked, organic AND in biodegradable packaging. Feel free to add more varieties of beans. I do not suggest canned because any metal in canned goods is lined with BPA. Few companies make their products BPA free.

1. Add veggie broth to pot and set on medium.
2. Chop up carrots, onion, tomatoes and (if using) jalapeno.
3. Add all ingredients, except cheeses, to pot and let cook for 1-2 hours. Stirring occasionally.
4. Cook pasta of choice shortly before the chili is done. I like to add a little olive oil to the water to prevent pasta from sticking, but this isn't necessary.

I try to keep my pasta intake to a minimum so I enjoyed just the chili. But for the pasta lovers, put some pasta in a bowl then cover with several scoops of chili.

5. Top with grated pecorino romano and cheddar cheese. I like to buy the cheese blocks and use a hand grater. Pre-grating or buying already grated cheese is an option as well.

Note: If using dried beans, cook almost thoroughly before adding other ingredients.