Fit Fridays: Vegetarian Chili

This was a long week at the Finding Silver Pennies house. Conor has been sick all week and now, well, now we are bracing for a gigantic snow storm.  A blizzard is coming today.  The schools are closed and all in Massachusetts need to be off the roads by noon today.  I’m hoping everyone stays safe hrough this storm.

Today I’m sharing a vegetarian chili recipe:

My children love this recipe!  Over the past few weeks John has been taking a cooking class at Once Upon a Table in North Scituate.  Once Upon a Table is a hands-on cooking class for children lead by Linda Ricciardelli.  It is such a fantastic place, housed in an old victorian building next door to Baked.  The interior is painted in lime green, with a learning island where the kids sample all their dishes.  They use kid sized stainless steel counters and utensils. The children have made such fun recipes including: white chocolate hot chocolate, snowflake cookies, dumplings for Chinese New Year and sweet for Valentine’s Day.  The chili was John’s favorite by far!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

3/4 cup bulgur

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chile powder

2 (14-oz) can crushed tomatoes

3 cups vegetable stock

15 1/2 ounces canned red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

15 1/2 ounces canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

11 ounces canned corn kernels, rinsed and drained

2 tbsp. tomato paste

plain yogurt, to serve

(low fat cheese, optional) my guys love cheese so we added cheese to our chili

1. Put the bulgur in a heatproof bowl and pour in 1 cup of hot water. Leave to stand until needed.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occassionally, or until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic, cumin, chile, and cinnamon, and stir-fry for 1 minutes.

3. Add the bulgur and all the remaining ingredients, except yogurt, and stir to combine. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

It is so tasty and so healthy and who can resist getting their kids to eat healthy?  It is the perfect recipe to get you through a blizzard.  We’re planning on making a big batch today.