I live in rural northeastern Connecticut which means I will be snowed in today and probably without power for a week. We have equipment and supplies to sustain such an outage (I hope) but there are a series of preparations that we do before big storms. I started yesterday morning with grocery shopping, getting all the laundry washed and dried, filling up all gas containers, and working on clearing felled trees in the cross-country ski trails with my husband. This morning preparations took on another level. We have potable water stockpiled, and filled both tubs with water for flushing toilets. Then I started cooking.......
It is always easier to weather power outages if I have easy to heat soups and stews already made. We can heat them up on the woodstove, gas grill or camp stove using a minimum of dishes. I started making a huge pot of a family favorite -Vegetarian Chili.
Vegetarian Chili for a Crowd
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
12 oz package of Smart Ground TVP - like ground beef but not!
2 large yellow onions, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
4 large stalks fo celery, diced
3 15 ounce cans of beans- I use kidney beans but
others work as well.
3 14-ounce cans zesty diced tomatoes
2 6- ounce cans spicy V8 juice
6 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cans corn
1/2 cup dried lentils (optional)
2 medium green bell peppers
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. oregano
1 Tbs. Cumin
1 tsp. Thyme
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 cup grated cheese
Chopped cilantro
Directions:
• In a large pot heat the olive oil on medium
heat. Add onion, celery and garlic and
cook for 2 minutes. Add TVP and brown as you continue to cook
onions about 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Add the chili beans and their juices, tomatoes and V8 juice.
Cover and let simmer while you prepare the vegetables.
• Peel the carrots and add them to the pot along
with the corn and peppers.
• Add lentils.
• Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme,
red pepper, salt and sugar.
• Let the chili simmer, covered, over low heat
for about three hours, stirring occasionally.
• Add tabasco sauce to taste if desired.
• Top with grated cheese and chopped cilantro and serve.
I made this huge batch of chili because I hope that once the storms blows out to sea we can have a skiing and snowshoeing party with neighbors and friends. The chili will be set to go!
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©2013 AshbeeDesign, Marji Roy
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