It seems as though Fall temperatures were out in full force this weekend. I even saw Florida Facebook friends remark about needing their jackets…which means it must have dipped down below 70! Between endless football games on television and cooler weather, we were desperate for some chili around here.
I almost always make my chili meatless. It’s just how I like it. Sometimes I put it on something like spaghetti. Other times we use it to make nachos. But today I just wanted a big bowl of chili. We did however mix things up a bit by bumping up the flavor and texture by adding some quinoa. This made the chili so thick and substantial. I was completely surprised by how much I loved it! Plus, quinoa is like, SO good for you. Score!
I rarely am down for healthy versions of recipes, but this one is an exception.
Here’s how me and my little sous chef made this chili happen!
Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
3 cans of beans- I used black, red & white (drain and rinse)
1 Large can of tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes- I used one Italian and one Rotel version (don’t drain!!)
1/2 an onion
1/2 a green pepper
1/2 Cup Quinoa
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar
Brady is super into helping me chop up veggies so we started by dicing up our half onion and half green pepper. He ate a lot of the green pepper though…
We got our veggies cooking up in a big pot with a little EVOO and S&P.
Once the veggies were tender we added the tomato sauce to the pot. (Another good job for your little helper!)
At this point we measured out and added our seasonings- salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and sugar. Sidenote: is anyone else just obsessing over chalkboard labels?!
Then we drained and rinsed all 3 cans of beans and added them to the pot. We also threw in the 2 cans of tomatoes with all the juices- don’t drain them! That extra liquid helps cook up the quinoa.
Next, we added our 1/2 cup of quinoa. Check out the label of the black beans and quinoa. Holy protein! (Who needs meat?!) At this point we put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. The quinoa starts out very visible, but once it cooks it becomes more transparent and the chili thickens up.
Here’s a glimpse at what the big ol’ pot of chili looks like once the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid and is nice and tender.
The great thing about chili is you can just let it keep doing it’s thing for a while before you’re ready to eat and it keeps getting better. We kept ours on the stove, on low, for about an hour or so until we were ready to eat.
We topped our chili with cheese, sour cream (or plain Greek Yogurt) and some green onions. Healthy never tasted so good.
I should mention that while Brady did most of the cooking today, Nolan was WAY into the eating part. The boy just loves chili. Always has! Let’s not think about tomorrow’s diapers…
And the best part is…there’s leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch!
Football + Fall + Food= Freakin’ Fabulous!
our blessed adventures 