throwing caution to the wind with some magical fruit

my husband hates beans.  not green beans. but beans. kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans.  i can understand why. i grew up with my brother hating them too.  he would literally have to run to the bathroom gagging.  not fun.  so needless to say, i have never made us a big pot of chili.  and i love chili.  but since i went down the vegan road, we have basically been eating totally different meals everyday.  and this has been fine so far.  in fact, billy has been completely supportive of my new lifestyle.  so hopefully when he comes home from work, he won't be entirely disgusted by the large pot filled with hundreds of beans that i find absolutely delicious.
one may say that i cheated with this recipe, since i used a "chili season" mix.  but this was my first time making chili. i wanted to make sure i got it right.  and it is sooooo yummy.


vegan veggie chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of fresh garlic - minced
1 green bell pepper - chopped
1/4 of a large red onion - chopped
1/2 zucchini - chopped
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can seasoned chili beans
2 cups sweet corn
1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon beef flavor dissolved in 2 cups hot water
1 packet of Simply Organic vegetarian chili mix dissolved in 1/4 hot water

optional -
fresh cilantro - chopped
fresh lime juice
a few shakes of Franks red hot

heat olive oil in medium sized stock pot, add garlic, green pepper and onion. saute for about 5 minutes over medium heat. add zucchini.  continue cooking.  in a large bowl add tomatoes - poke all with knife and with your hands, break into pieces and add to the pot, add remaining tomato juice. drain the beans (EXCEPT THE SEASONED CHILI BEANS). add the bouillon mixture to the pot and stir.  add all of the beans and corn, stir. add the chili mix, stir.  lower the heat to low, continue cooking and stirring a few times.

at my Wegmans, i also found a bag of frozen black eyed peas, black beans, red peppers and onions.  i added this with the corn.  i just thought it would be a nice addition.
you can also add a chopped jalapeno pepper for added heat - i happened to forget one at the store.  but this chili has great heat to it already.  just depends on you!