Healthy Vegan Chili

Recipe is from: http://86lemons.com/fat-melting-veggie-chili/

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2½ cups diced red onions
1 cup diced carrots
2 bell peppers, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced

1 (10 oz) bag frozen corn

2 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. chili powder
4 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeños
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 (14.5 oz) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
1 (15 oz) black beans
1 (15 oz) can Adzuki beans (I used white northern beans instead)
2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
3 Tbsp. tomato paste

optional:
1 to 2 cups vegetable  broth or vegetable juice (You can also just use water.)


Directions:
STEP 1
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, peppers, and sweet potatoes, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

STEP 2
Stir in the cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic and jalapeño and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

STEP 3
Add the tomatoes, beans, oregano, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and cinnamon. At this point, you can add a little vegetable broth, vegetable juice or water if you like your chili a bit thinner.

STEP 4
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the corn; cook 5 more minutes, until corn is heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

Recipe idea is from: http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/04/jalapeno-popper-grilled-cheese-sandwich.html

I omitted the tortilla chips.

Ingredients (Makes 4 large sandwiches):
1 loaf of sourdough bread
cream cheese
8 jalapenos
shredded cheddar jack cheese
margarine or butter

Directions:
Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise and de-seed them. Place them upside down on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast them under the broiler until the skin begins to blacken. When they are done, put them in a paper lunch bag and fold the top over. Let them sit while you gather the other ingredients.

Spread thin layer of cream cheese on both slices of bread. Add the shredded cheese and four jalapeno halfs. Assemble the sandwich and butter the outer sides of the bread. Cook over medium heat until golden brown.

We ate the sandwich with tomato soup.

Buffalo Seitan Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough - I bought a pre-made whole wheat dough from Whole Foods (bagged in refrigerator section)
Tomato Pizza Sauce
1 Package plain seitan (I used Upton Naturals traditional seitan)
Buffalo sauce of choice
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 red onion, sliced
Diced jalapeno/habanero peppers (optional)


I marinated the seitan in buffalo sauce overnight.
Cook the red onion with some oil over medium heat until softened.
Assemble the pizza: dough, sauce, onions and seitan, then cheese. Drizzle buffalo sauce over the top. Add hot peppers if using.
Bake according to dough directions. I baked mine on a pizza stone.

Ryan's Ghost Pepper and Jalapeno Salsa

adapted from: http://www.insanechicken.com/blog/ghost-pepper-salsa-recipe/

Ingredients:

6 large tomatoes * , peeled and chopped
1 can plain diced tomatoes (optional - see below)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small/medium yellow onion, chopped
jalapenos, chopped (Ryan used 4)
ghost peppers, chopped (fresh - Ryan used 3)
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
small amount of water (optional)

*We only had 3 small/medium tomatoes from the garden plus some cherry tomatoes. we used these plus a can of plain diced tomatoes. If you have enough fresh tomato you can omit the canned. The canned added a significant amount of liquid so adding water was not necessary. I would wait til all ingredients are added before you decide whether more moisture is needed.

Instructions:
First, peel the tomatoes. To do this, bring a pot of water to boil. cut a shallow "X" pattern on the bottom of each tomato. Drop into boiling water for about 30 seconds until skin starts to wrinkle. Take out and place in a bath of ice water. Then peel the skin off and chop into chunks. (Very small tomatoes will only take a few seconds in the boiling water).

Add chopped tomatoes to a pan with all other ingredients. Turn up heat until bubbling then turn to low and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Let sit for 1-2 minutes. Add salsa to food processor or blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate.

Black Bean "Hummus"

from http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/03/12/black-bean-hummus/

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
2 tablespoons tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 small jalapeño pepper, seeded

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, process cilantro, tahini, water, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, black beans, garlic and jalapeño until combined. Scrape down the bowl and continue to process until the hummus is smooth and creamy.
Transfer hummus to a serving bowl, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.