Chunky Vegetable Chili

*Picture Courtesty of http://www.simplyrecipes.com/

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½ -inch pieces (1 ½ cups)
• 1 medium green sweet pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
• ½ cup coarsely chopped onion                                
• ½ cup coarsely chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• ½  teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 14 ½ -ounce cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes                                                           
• 1 17-ounce can whole kernel corn
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 8-ounce jar salsa                                                      
• Dairy sour cream

Instructions

In a 3 ½ or 4 quart crockery cooker combine zucchini, green sweet pepper, onion, celery, garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Stir in un-drained tomatoes, un-drained corn, drained beans, and salsa.Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. To serve, ladle the chili into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream. Makes 4 servings.

NOTE – For meat chili just add 1 pound browned and drained ground beef.

To reduce hotness, use regular stewed tomatoes and a mild salsa.

Optional: Serve with warm cornmeal biscuits.

Alterations to the Recipe: I use more onion and combine red, yellow and green bell peppers.  I also use additional chili powder.  I have used different hotness of salsa and added ground beef or ground turkey.  There are many ways to make this your own.

One thing I would suggest is that you do not add the zucchini right away.  If you use a crock pot you can add zucchini about the last 1 1/2 hours. 

~ Maureen