no box! part one

We got back from vacation on Thursday and were not going to be receiving a new CSA delivery til Wednesday, so that left us with 5 days of meals with no fresh veggies in sight. I was really craving something healthy after our complete lack of vegetables on vacation, so Kenny bought a few veggies to tide us over from a local market.

The first night back Kenny made an awesome slow-cooked chili with beans, Yves Ground, tomatoes and peppers, and topped it off with chunks of toasted day-old Philadelphia soft pretzels.
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can pinto beans
1 package Yves ground
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp 2x concentrate tomato paste
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:
3 squares of a dark chocolate candy bar, grated
shredded cheese

Add all ingredients (except garnish) to slow cooker. Cook on high for 1.5 hours, and on low for 1.5 hours. When the chili is ready, add the grated chocolate and stir to incorporate. Ok. Chocolate? Really Kenny? Yes, really. Adding chocolate to chili is one of my favorite things to do. It give the chili a creamy texture and adds a really great depth of flavor to the whole dish (think mole' sauce). Just try it, even with canned chili, it makes a world of difference.

Garnish bowls of chili with shredded cheese, and if you are lucky enough to have philly soft pretzels (or any soft pretzels- they just make awesome croutons!), these tasty treats:

Soft pretzel croutons:
Soft pretzels- cut into 1 inch chunks
Olive oil
Garlic powder
salt and pepper

Place soft pretzel chunks on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Lightly shake garlic, salt, and pepper over the oiled chunks. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes and allow to cool. For use in salads I like to add herbs to these, but for the chili I thought it would be better without them.