Vegetarian Chili

Submitted by Linda Peterson
(or vegan, if you don't use any cheese!)

I happened upon this recipe in 2007 while perusing some cookbook (with cheap, healthy, easy recipes for college students) that belonged to my roommate Amber. I thought it sounded delicious, and lo and behold it WAS delicious! This is the perfect time of year for this chili. It's very cheap, you can have most all of the ingredients in food storage, and it's really great to make for friends that are sick or just had a baby.

1 bell pepper (any color is good!)
1 sweet yellow onion
2 (15 oz) cans black beans
2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes (the big chunky ones by Hunt's are my favorite)
1 (15 oz) can corn
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon (THIS is the magic ingredient)

Chop up the onion and bell pepper. In the bottom of a big pot (where you will put all the rest of the chili ingredients), saute onion and bell pepper in butter till they just begin to brown. Add all of the canned ingredients in their entirety--DO NOT DRAIN. The liquid from the cans forms the stock of the chili. Add the spices. Cover and bring chili to a soft boil, stirring occasionally. Uncover, lower heat (REALLY low), and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, until desired consistency. Stir occasionally so your chili doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan; I've had that happen with different stovetops.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, cheesy biscuits, whatever you want! Yum!

I've also made a white chili version of this, with white beans and tomatillos, but I can't entirely remember what I did spice-wise...so feel free to experiment!