This came out surprisingly well. It’s vegan, but my husband added some of it to his hamburger with hamburger flavor mix and it was pretty good that way also. Also he likes it as it is, on its own. Eureka!
Texan’s Nightmare Chili
Fast vegan chili. If it makes you feel better, shake your fist in the general direction of Montana and say words appropriate to your chili religion
Ingredients
- 3 + cans of beans, any kind except black-eyed peas and except lentils will probably work, I like kidney beans. I used a mixture of kidney beans and chickpeas for my first attempt but would recommend just beans. I also drained the cans, put the beans in the cookpot, covered them with water, swished them around and drained that, but you don’t have to
- ½ + jars of salsa, choose your spice tolerance. I actually recommend milder than you’re used to because this recipe is pretty spicy
- 1+ jars of water, to ensure your chili doesn’t burn in the pot Multiply by however many people you intend to feed. By volume use roughly 3 parts beans to ½ part salsa and 1 part water. It’s hard to screw this recipe up even if you alter quantities a bit. Just taste as you go, using a clean spoon each time.
- Prepared vegetables to taste, such as chopped onion, chopped celery, crushed minced garlic
- Seasoning to taste, such as seasoning salt, a spoonful of good organic neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as sunflower or canola, chili powder, onion powder, cumin, a pinch of cloves. For my first attempt I added (per 2 cups or so beans and ½ cup or so of salsa and 1 c. water) 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp seasoning salt (a brand popular in Texas), ¼ tsp black pepper, and some freshly ground black pepper
- Optional garnishes, such as chopped raw onion, chopped avocado, minced cilantro, vegan or regular sour cream, vegan or regular shredded cheese such as cheddar, cooked crumbled vegan or regular beef, cooked chopped vegan or regular chicken
Directions
- Put everything except the seasonings in a pot, preferably nonstick or enameled or cast-iron, which will accommodate the volume that has a lid. Or, throw it all in a slow cooker, set it on Low, add a little extra water, cover it and go to work. This is chili. You can let it simmer more or less all day and it should still be fine.
- Bring it to a boil, covered, or let it cook in the slow cooker, covered. If you’ll be cooking it on the stove for however long, lower the heat to the bare minimum simmer and keep it partially covered, topping it up with liquid (water, vegetable broth, whatever) to keep the liquid level constant so – again – the chili doesn’t burn, til you like the flavor or til it’s time to eat. Taste it with a clean spoon as you go. On a stovetop you might want to stir it with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula a couple times to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom if you’re cooking it for longer than 20 minutes
- Season it to taste, which means throw stuff in it, stir, taste with a clean unused spoon, and keep adding stuff and tasting with clean spoons til it tastes as good as you think it’ll get
- Serve, optionally with garnishes. Should go well with cornbread, tortilla chips, or corn chips. I actually really like it with toast
New Book of Days 
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