All this cold weather can only mean one thing.

We’re having chili for dinner.

I saw a recipe for quinoa chili on twitter a few weeks ago and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Quinoa? In chili? Sounds like an unpleasant texture. And yet.

It’s not at all. I loved it.

The best part? Super healthy. Protein packed. You’ll be ready to…pump some iron or something after a bowl of this.

Also, super easy. After you dice all the vegetables, it literally takes 20 minutes of attention. You could even chop up all the veggies the night before. Then you could catch up on a zillion episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” after work the next day and STILL have a good meal. Not that that’s what I’d do.

And I know this is so cliche, but you won’t even miss the meat.

Quinoa Chili

original recipe of cogsandcupcakes

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water or veggie/chicken stock

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium sweet potato, peeled
1 jalapeno
5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
1 tsp oregano
scant 1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp celery seed

1 lb of dry black beans, soaked overnight and boiled until tender
OR 3 cans black beans
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tbs chipotle sauce or diced chipotle peppers in adobo

garnishes: avocado, cheese, sour cream, tomato, cilantro, green onions, or crackers

Combine the quinoa and water/stock in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Set aside. If there is still liquid covering the quinoa, that’s fine. It all gets mixed into the chili.

Dice all the vegetables into desired, size. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add vegetables. Cook until tender, 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, combine the spices (chili powder through celery seed) in a small bowl. Add to vegetables and mix.

Add the remaining 4 ingredients and quinoa. Bring to a simmer for at least 30 minutes, or for as long as you want. Really, longer is better. It will give the flavors time to meld. And melding is key. That’s why chili is ALWAYS better the next day.

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