One of the things I really like about making chilli is that it is a very flexible dish. Depends on what vegetables I have on hand as to what I put in it. I do not have any zucchini in the house, but I do have frozen corn… & 1/2 a yellow pepper in fridge. I have celery…. & the rest of the ingredients. There is a pkg of ground beef in the freezer so I am going to add that. I always use beans, but sometimes I do not add black beans,,,I just use kidney beans…This recipe is for a vegetarian chilli but I am going to include the option to add the meat
Serve this in a nice sized bowl with a crusty bun, some nacho chips….or on its own.
Here is the recipe *** I re-wrote the recipe from the original post…
- If you are adding meat to this chilli, sauté it in a saucepan until no pink is left, stir often to break up the clumps of meat. Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon & set it aside. Discard any fat & water from the pot…
- In the same saucepan, add the oil & sauté the onion & garlic until the onion is translucent ***of course the onion started to brown…which is ok!!
- Then add the celery & diced pepper, and continue to sauté until the celery & pepper start to cook & get soft…
- Next add the corn, zucchini if using & the beans, stir well
- Add the diced tomatoes, water & tomato soup & spices.Mix well
- Bring to a slow boil, then turn the heat down & let the chilli simmer for about an hour, I like the liquid to be more on the thick side then thin so cook it longer if you want it thicker… if it gets too thick, add some water or tomato juice if you want… sometimes I forget about it on the stove & it gets really thick…we like it like this
- Stir often so it does not stick to the pan
- Taste & adjust the seasonings

I love some fresh veggie chilli on a snowy day 😀