Quick and Yummy Vegan Chili

I'm a rider, horseback rider that is, so I spend a LOT of time at the barn. This means that I have to eat quickly and change when I come home from work so I can make it out to the barn in time for my lessons. I used to just grab whatever I could to eat and run out the door. Mostly it was bad choices like a Hot Pocket or fast food. Now that I'm a vegan I need to plan ahead.

Since I have back-to-back lessons on Wednesday nights I need something that will keep me full and give me some energy. Riding for two hours is hard work! Not to mention the grooming and tacking and everything else that goes along with it. So last night I pulled out a vegetarian chili recipe my friend gave me and decided to give it a try. I figured it would make enough for me to get a few meals out of it at least and she's always talking about how yummy it is. Boy was she right!!! It's called "Vegetarian Chili" but it's really vegan. My house smelled so good that even my husband was jealous! (He's on the caveman diet so he can't eat beans. No beans means no chili.)

I didn't have all of the ingredients listed so I'll put my substitutions in italics.

Vegan Chili

Ingredients

1 cup green peppers diced I used one red pepper since I don't like green peppers
1 cup onion diced
2 cups kidney beans I used one can of kidney beans and one can of black beans
1 cup (15 oz can) of crushed tomatoes I used one can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of onion powder I used 1/2 tsp of dried minced onions
1/4 tsp of garlic powder I used 1 tsp of garlic powder...I like garlic
Pinch of oregano
1 tsp of ground pepper
1/4 tsp of cumin I used Penzey's Turkish Seasoning instead (available at penzeys.com)
1/2 bag of ground soy (optional) I left this out because I didn't have any
1/2 tsp of chili powder
Olive oil
1 can mushrooms (optional) I used 1 cup of fresh mushrooms

To Make:
Saute peppers and onion in a little olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Add additional seasoning to taste.

Notes:
I added Penzey's Seasoned Salt to taste and ended up adding a little more of the Turkish Seasoning as well. I also added 1 tbsp cornstarch to thicken it up. It was too watery for my taste though I think most of the liquid would have evaporated anyway. I let it cool and put it in the fridge overnight. I had some this morning, I couldn't wait. It was delicious!!!