So it's fall. Lately it's been feeling a lot more like winter. To me, these seasons mean big pots of soup and hearty comfort food meals. In the swing of this, Mark, being over his flu this week, had requested a big pot of chili...hehe...

Lately I've been making a lot of meatless meals. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike meat, it's just that by substituting meat with other proteins and beans is just so much healthier. However, throwing a wrench into all these meatless meal plans is Mark. He insists that I always add some form of meat to his portion of the dish, which is fine, but whenever it's possible to hide that there's no meat I'm happy.

Enter chili....

The perfect big pot, messy dish for hiding the fact that it's meatless!

Since Mark is now on "the look out" for these meatless meals as soon as he gets home, I used veggie ground round to substitute the hamburger.

And you can see what I mean when I say that over all its just healthier

So this is a super simple winter crockpot meal from Kraft and I've just adapted a few of the ingredients to make it super healthy. I love these for days when I work all day and just want to come home to a dinner already prepared.

1lb. extra lean ground beef (or 3 packs veggie ground round)

1 19 oz. can red kidney beans

1 19 oz. can black beans

2 cups salsa

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

3 Tbsp chili powder

1 onion, chopped

1 14 oz. can corn kernels

Start by browning the meat substitute (or hamburger). And then pour it to the bottom of the crockpot.

(see, it even looks like hamburger)

Then add the remaining ingredients over top, except the cheese. And stir well to combine. 

Then cook on low for 5-6 hours. I know you're not supposed to remove the lid while cooking, but I find it helps in the last hour or two to give it a stir every once in a while to prevent sticking to the bottom.

Top with grated cheese and sour cream.

And voila!

And the verdict here...Mark has now had 2 bowls, and stated that "it's awesome, it's so good!"

Hehehe and he hasn't got a clue it's completely meatless.