Easy and Delicious Black Bean Chili

February 18, 2010

An awesome recipe from my friend Mary, with her personal notes. I make this very often because we all love it. I make it vegetarian style and substitute 1 can of black beans with 1 can of red beans, just for the color and variety.

Photo courtesy of myrecipes.com. We eat this up too fast for me to photograph it!

Ingredients:
OPTIONAL:1 package kielbasa sausage (I use Chappell Hill Jalapeno), cut into 1/4" thick coins
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
Bell peppers on hand, chopped (I usually use one red, one green, and one poblano--or whatever is lying around. Poblano gives a nice, mild heat.)
3 cans of black beans, drained
2-3 cups broth (I use chicken, but you could easily use vegetable or even water, just add salt)
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
chili powder to taste (I use about 2.5 tablespoons)
~1 handful of sugar
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
2 tsp. ground cumin
oregano to taste
OPTIONAL: sour cream for dollopin'
OPTIONAL: corn bread muffins for accompanying

Directions:
Brown kielbasa and reserve. Add grease from kielbasa to heavy stock pot or dutch oven to form soup base. (Or if not using sausage, add about 1-2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil). Turn heat to medium/high and saute garlic, onion, and peppers until they begin to tenderize. Add beans, broth, tomatoes with juice, chili powder, sugar, vinegar, bay leaves, oregano, and cumin and stir in. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If using sausage, return it to pot after simmering. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until chili thickens (I usually do this about 20 or so more minutes, or until I am ready to eat.) Adjust salt and pepper, as desired. If not veganizing, a dollop of sour cream on top is a delightful addition. Highly recommend serving with cornbread muffins (I like Jiffy cornbread mix, not least because it is SO fast and simple).