Damn Hot Chili

Today was finally a chilly day after crazy heat in September. It didn't even warm up once! So Andy and I decided it was a chili kind of day (no pun intended). Lately we've been into hot food so we decided to make it Damn Hot Chili.

Damn Hot Chili

1 Mirasol Chili chopped
1 Red matured Jalapeno minced
1 Anaheim Chili chopped
1 lrg. Green Bell Pepper chopped
1 lrg. Onion chopped
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can white hominy
chili powder to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 lrg can crushed tomatoes (I used Eden Organic and they were really crushed like a puree so it ended up thicker than I intended but I prefer the chunky tomatoes so now I know)
1 lrg can V8

Lightly caramelize peppers and onions with seasonings. Once veggies are caramelized add all other ingredients and then add more chili powder to taste. Then let simmer on low to medium heat for an hour. Adjust temperature depending on your stove. I'm a sissy and I only like it so hot so you can adjust your spicy to your tastes. Andy is a Tabasco junkie so he made his a lot hotter. Then you can serve up your chili however you like it. Here are a few suggestions of toppings you can use:

• avacado
• vegan sour cream
• vegan cheese (I am not in favor of these I would just rather go without cheese)
• crackers
• roasted sesame seeds
• chopped onions
• make your own ideas and share them!

4 pepper sloppy lentils

As the weather is cooling off and my plate is getting fuller I have been using my crock pot a lot lately to cook while I'm at work. Today I made a variation of my grandmother's sloppy lentil recipe. It tastes just like sloppy joes but without the death of a cute cow. This time I sliced up a bunch of sweet potatoes in uneven slices (who wants uniform fries anyway?), seasoned them and made sweet potato fries. This recipe is usually better the next day after its had a chance to marry over night in the fridge but it's definitely good hot and fresh on day one. This recipe makes a lot so be prepared to have all kinds of yummy left overs.
2 cups of lentils (I prefer green but you can use whatever you like)
1 small green pepper chopped
1 small red pepper chopped
1 small yellow pepper chopped
1 med. yellow chili pepper chopped1 med. onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1 tblsp. garlic powder
1 tblsp. onion powder
1 tblsp. crushed red pepper
Chili powder to taste
1 bottle chili sauce (I like Hines but again whatever you like)

put all ingredients in crock pot except chili sauce. cover with water. let cook on low till lentils are tender but not completely done. check water throughout cooking, should be kept thick though don't add too much water. When lentils get to tender stage add bottle of chili sauce and let cook on low for another hour. Then usually you would let it cool and then refrigerate overnight to serve the next day. But again you can eat this right away if you'd like...I sure did!

*please by all means use this recipe if you like but do not try to take credit it for it in another blog or anything else as this recipe was created by my grandmother. Thanks.