Crock Pot Chili

Beans are the staples of Gluten Free Vegans! Crock Pot Chili is one of those throw together comfort foods whose ingredients are already on most of our shelves. Looking at the authors row of bean jars in this article made me feel like I was looking at my own pantry! Actually, we use plastic containers rather than glass …. but you get the idea!

Just for reference, if you don’t have them already in your pantry, let me recommend that you store at least 3 different types of beans (black beans, white beans and one other type) and two kinds of lentils ( we have red and green) in your pantry at any given time. You can create numerous dishes by adding and array of veggies with some beans and/or lentils … the list of dishes are limited only by your imagination.

So here is to our featured recipe:

The Vegetarian Chili Cliché (Slow Cooker)

1/2 cup dried black beans (also called ‘turtle beans’)

1/2 cup dried small white beans (also called ‘navy beans’ or ‘pea beans’)

1/2 cup dried chickpeas (also called ‘garbanzo beans’)

1/2 cup green lentils

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice (or 3 large ripe tomatoes, diced)

2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano

2 teaspoons cumin

2-3 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

Water, for soaking and cooking