quintessential...

I'm always on the search for an ultimate, quintessential recipe. For starters my future Mother in Law Debbie's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies definitely come in first place. Followed by the Barefoot Contessa's "Outrageous Brownies," and last but not least Martha Stewart's Mac and Cheese. I love finding a great go-to recipe.

A few weeks ago, I went on a search for a great vegetarian chili recipe. I love my black bean chili recipe that goes over sweet potatoes. [By the way, I failed to give proper credit. Claire gave me the idea for that incredible combo. I just made up my own recipe. :~) ] I wanted a great all purpose vegetarian chili recipe. I've now made this recipe 3 times. I made it for Wednesday night dinner at church. I accidentally bought the wrong sized tomato cans. I compensated by adding water (because the chili looked really dry) BAD IDEA. I made a great "chili soup." It tasted great, but the consistency was off. I made it again a few weeks ago for girls' night, and it was a hit. I made it again last night, and it was as good as ever.

We had some friends over for a hockey watch party. The USA v Canada game did not disappoint! We had such a fun time. I'm not a huge sports fan. But I adore the fun atmosphere of cheering on the home team.

I wish I had photos, but my camera is still not working. I bought red white and blue paper plates. (As much as I don't love using paper, I always remark how amazingly easy clean-up is!) I found some plastic medals at Target, and some stickers for the kids. I even made cupcakes (the coke cake recipe) with red frosting and white dragees and some with white frosting and blue sparkle sugar. I went all out!

I served the chili with crumbled tortilla chips (thanks for bringing those Jamie and Marjo!) And Jamie made some black bean dip. Gigi brought some great fasting friendly double chocolate chip cookies. Brandon even made the trek to the Ghost River brewery to pick up a few growlers of the Winter Warmer and Pale Ale.

I commented to Brandon that this was the least amount of food I've ever made for a party. I usually go WAY overboard! I don't think anyone left hungry, and I was a lot less stressed out. It even gave me some extra money to buy a great new floor lamp for my dining room. (I have overhead lighting issues, and need lamps, lots of lamps. Good thing, because I love a good lamp!)

Without further ado, here's the recipe for the chili. I'm loving the Cookinglight.com website. Thanks Claire for telling me about about how great Cooking Light is. Sometimes I forget that most of their recipes are low in calories and fat. I got a $5 subscription recently, and it has proven to be a great investment. Plus, their recipes all include nutrition information. For instance this recipe is only 257 calories. And, it's incredibly filling because of the protein and 14, yes FOURTEEN (!) grams of fiber! (Many of you already know, I'm a big fan of fiber. Most people don't get enough. And it's so healthy!)

Chunky Vegetarian Chili (From Cooking Light)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

PS- Attention all Hockey Fans: If Team USA makes it to the gold medal game next Sunday, you're all invited over again! USA! USA!