Oh, so yummy Black Bean Chili

I absolutely love fall.  It is by far my favorite time of the year!  So, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite fall (well, I won't lie. . . I make this year round!) meals.  

First of all, I am not a soup person.  It just isn't my favorite thing.  But give me a thick, dip-able soup any day.  I love chili, chicken tortilla soup, corn chowder.  I even love a delicious bowl of onion soup.  I also think that chili is one of the most adaptable meals ever.  You can eat it as is, with a hot dog, potato, over corn chips, and of course corn bread. Another thing, I LOVE to do is "accessorize" my chili.  Sour Cream, cilantro, crushed up chips, avocado, etc.  just look so pretty topped on top of your favorite chili or chicken tortilla soup.    

Several years ago, when I was menu planning, we started trying to eat less meat.  I was never really good at making it Meatless Mondays, because I like to eat what we have food for.  Thankfully, this recipe uses a lot of ingredients that I keep on hand anyway.  It also freezes really nicely.  It's one of my favorite things to do with soup. . . freeze part of it for another quick meal later on in the month.

Oh so yummy, Black Bean Chili
adapted from Epicurious

Note:  When baking, it isn't as easy to make adaptations to recipes because of the chemistry involved.  When cooking, it so much fun to make a recipe that has your fingerprint added into it.  So, here's my version of the original located in the link above. 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups corn (I like to use Trader Joe's frozen grilled corn)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder (I usually use half regular half Pampered Chef Chili Lime rub)
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 can black beans (1 can rinsed and drained, 1 can with the juices)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 16 oz can tomato sauce

Chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream
grated cheese
chopped green onions
tortilla chips/corn chips

Directions:
Heat oil in your favorite large pot.  Once it is warmed up, add onions, peppers, and garlic.  Saute until onions are soft.  Add in corn.  Mix in spices and stir together for a couple minutes.  Mix in beans and tomato sauce.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, and a bit of lime juice if desired.  Serve with desired toppings (or just plain).