Meatless Monday with Halloween Super-Scary Spicy Vegan Chili

Hello and welcome to our Halloween-inspired Meatless Monday recipe series. Miratel took the Meatless Monday pledge as it encourages eliminating meat from your diet one day per week to preserve the health of our planet (and ourselves!). We consider our support of this great movement part of our CSR business strategies as it spreads awareness of the impact of our food choices on our environment.

Just because Halloween doesn’t fall on Monday it doesn’t mean you can’t go meat-free and today’s recipe for Super Scary Vegan Chili will be a warming belly-filler before heading out for trick-or-treating. This recipe from One Green Planet uses a 1 ½ to 2 quart slow cooker but you can make it on your stove-top if that is your preference. Or you can choose to make another vegan chili recipe but be sure to serve it in these cool orange pepper jack-o-lanterns.

Halloween Super-Scary Spicy Vegan Chili Ingredients (makes 4 cups):

Image courtesy of One Green Planet

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 to 2 peppers from a (7 ounce) can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans
• 1 cup ground seitan (Chipotle flavoured if possible)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• lime wedges and chopped cilantro, for serving

Preparation:

1. Drain the tomatoes in a small food processor. Don’t worry about getting every drop out of the can or squeezing them dry. You just want to get what pours out freely. Add 1 to 2 chipotle peppers to the food processor depending on how hot you want your sauce to be. You can also spoon some extra adobo sauce in from the can to get the heat level up. Puree and set aside.
2. In a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker, add the contents left in the tomato can, 1 to 2 teaspoons of the chipotle sauce you just made, black beans, seitan, garlic, oregano, and chili powder. Cook on low 7 to 9 hours (or 4 to 5 hours on high).
3. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving. Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro along with the extra chipotle sauce you made on the side.

To Make Stuffed Stuffed Jack-O-Peppers:

• 4 large bell peppers about the same size with flat bottoms
• Preheat oven to 350 and grease (or line with parchment paper to make oil-free) a Dutch oven or a casserole dish and use foil later to cover it.
• Using a sharp knife carefully cut the top off. Cut away the seed portion that will probably stay with the top. Then cut away any of the whiteish parts on the inside ribs and remove any seeds that fell in.
• Now you will use a small paring knife to cut out the face. You can use any Jack-O-Lantern patterns, but be mindful that the holes aren’t too big or your chili will run out through the very holes you just cut. I really recommend stuffing one bean in each eye to help with leakage and because it looks spookier!
• Stuff your works of art with the cooked chili. It can be hot or from the fridge since you will be cooking them. Place them in the Dutch oven, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the peppers are easily pierced.
• They will be hot and oozing, so use a large spoon to scoop them onto a plate. Using the end of a knife or a tiny spoon, paint chipotle sauce blood on your Jack-O-Pepper. You could serve this on a bed of black forbidden rice to take the theme even further.

Slow Cooker Directions for cooking the finished stuffed peppers:

1. To bake them in a slow cooker you will need to use a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker to have the 4 peppers fit inside without crowding. Add a little bit of water, but not enough to come up to the holes you’ve carved. Cook on low 6 to 9 hours. Still be very careful lifting the piping hot peppers out!

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.