A while back, I explained what Meatless Mondays are around our house. Basically, we set aside one night a week to eat a vegetarian meal. This helps us eat healthier, and we save a little money too. Monday nights have gotten to be quite fun, and I have especially enjoyed trying new meatless recipes. This last Monday I branched out from my tried-and-true Italian or Mexican dishes to make a meatless chili. The idea was sent to me by a reader in response to my original Meatless Monday article.
Now, I know that it makes sense to most people that there is a reason why there is chili, and then there is chili con carne. “Con carne” means “with meat,” so that would lead one to conclude that plain-old chili is made without meat. Makes sense, I guess—in retrospect. Still, the idea of making any type of chili without meat was really foreign to me. To me, all chili—con carne or no—just has meat in it.
Maybe this comes from my Arizona heritage. My husband and I were flipping through a booklet for outsiders about Arizona, and we found a section that went into detail about how chili con carne is so popular here. It said that everyone had a favorite family recipe. Funny, we thought, because neither of our families had one, and both of our families have been in Arizona for generations. But anyway….back to the point—I was going to share with you what I made for dinner, and because I live in Arizona and know a bit of Spanish, I call it…
Chili Sin Carne (Chili without Meat)
I did not use measurements for what I used, but here’s basically what it was…
1 (14.5 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained
2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5 oz) can corn, drained
A few of spoonfuls of crushed pineapple for sweetness
Chile powder
Salt and Pepper
You can really add whatever you would like to this recipe. Put in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer until chili has cooked down. To make this even more frugal, cook your own beans. Serve with cornbread or rolls and top with cheese and sour cream, if you’d like.