wild rice – The Pajama Chef

A chunky vegetarian chili loaded up with beans, veggies, and pumpkin for some velvety smooth sauce. This soup makes a ton and tastes better the second day!

TEAR! This is my last recipe for #10DaysofTailgate. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway… there are lots of great prizes, including one from Bob’s Red Mill. You’re probably pretty familiar with Bob already, but you can check ’em out on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram too. 🙂 They sent me a bag of their 13 Bean Soup Mix and boy! was it good. Thanks, Bob! It had some of my favorite beans–black beans, lentils, pinto beans–along with some fun additions like black eyed peas and lima beans.

I have a few things to admit with this recipe, guys. First, I didn’t really make it vegetarian–I used chicken broth. Oops! But you can use vegetable broth if you want… I just wanted to call it a vegetarian chili. Second, it’s not nearly as pumpkiny as I would have liked. But that’s okay–the pumpkin adds a velvety smoothness to the saucy part of the chili… that may not actually be traditional chili because it has wild rice in it. Yum. But I wanted to call it a pumpkin chili so I did. Third, it’s addictive and may cause even non-bean lovers to swoon with delight because it’s chunky, tomato-y, pumpkin-y, and delicious!

Is that okay with you? Good! Go grab half the contents of your pantry, fridge, and spice cabinet and make this chili NOW. You’ll be so glad you did! It’s extra delicious with lots of melty cheese on top. Thanks, Camilla, for hosting #10DaysofTailgate! Hope y’all have enjoyed it as much as I have!

four years ago: Chunky Crock Pot Applesauce

Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili

Servings: 12
Time: 3 hours + overnight soak
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Ingredients:

2 cups 13 bean soup mix
1 – 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
6 cups water
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 – 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained
1 – 8 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added
5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pinch cinnamon
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup wild rice, uncooked
cheese, for topping

Directions:

The night before you wish to cook, wash and sort beans to remove any small pebbles. Soak in a large bowl full of cold water. When ready to cook, drain and rinse beans.

Add all ingredients except rice and cheese to pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, then cook uncovered for 90 minutes. After that time, add wild rice to the pot and let simmer until beans and rice are soft.

Serve with cheese on top!

Here’s what the rest of the crew brought to the table…

Starters
BBQ Sausage & Cheese Plate by The Spiffy Cookie
Vegified Hot “Wings” by Curious Cuisiniere
Fried Polenta Cakes with Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Salad by Love and Confections
Smoky Karma Stovetop Beans by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Dips
Chile con Queso by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Mains
Kicking Karma Veggie Fajita Pizza by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Not Ketchup Cherry Chipotle Steak Tacos by Making Miracles
BBQ Chickpea Sliders with Apple Slaw by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili by The Pajama Chef
Beef Kabobs by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Disclosure: I received a complementary bag of 13 Bean Soup Mix from Bob’s Red Mill as part of my participation in #10DaysofTailgate. I was not compensated in any way–for my time, to create a recipe, or to publish positive comments. I was not required to use these products as part of my recipe. My opinions are my own.

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was given the wonderful Sarah’s blog, Things I Make (for Dinner). Note that the URL of her blog reads “oreos and cool whip.” How fun! Be sure to read her about page for an explanation of that! 🙂 Sarah’s blog is full of tasty recipes, which isn’t a surprise since she has such a great name! She lives in Ontario with her husband and loves challenging herself to try new recipes, especially from magazines. As always I found many many recipes to try, but had to choose one–this awesome Black Bean and Rice Soup! If I had had more time, I would have made this Strawberry Cream Cake Roll. If I had needed to make an appetizer, these Buffalo Chicken Wontons look incredible. And when peaches are in season, this Peach Cobbler will definitely be on my table! But back to this soup.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that we often eat black beans and rice for dinner. It’s easy, fast, inexpensive, and we almost always have the ingredients on hand. Plus, if you add some salsa and taco seasoning, it’s basically Mexican food, right? And I love love LOVE Mexican. So naturally I had to make this soup, even though it’s been in the 80s here in Nashville. Naturally.

This soup is just as good as it sounds. I changed up Sarah’s recipe a little to exclude chicken [because I didn’t have any cooked] and to include some extra rice [wild and white]. All in all, this is a hearty, flavorful soup that gets better with each bowl you enjoy for leftovers. In her post about it, Sarah mentions that her husband wanted to put cheese on it but she thought it was flavorful enough without. For the record, I totally agree with you, Sarah! You definitely don’t need cheese with this soup. We enjoyed it with some english muffin bread and were more than satisfied. Thanks for the great recipe, Sarah!

one year ago: Blueberry Burg ers
two years ago: Parmesan Garlic Rolls
three years ago: Lemony Kale Pasta

Black Bean and Rice Soup [from Things I Make (for Dinner)]
click to print

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil [I used the Mediterranean Chili Pepper Oil from Star Fine Foods]
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth
3 cups black beans, drained and rinsed [about 2 – 15 ounce cans]
2 cups salsa
2 1/2 cups cooked rice [I used 1 cup white rice + 1 1/2 cups wild rice]
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
cilantro, for topping
green onions, for topping

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion and saute until soft. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then add chicken broth, black beans, salsa, rice, cumin, and lime juice. Stir together, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and then simmer until heated through, at least 20 minutes or longer if possible. Serve with cilantro and green onions.

Time: 30 minutes.
Yield: 8-10 servings.

Check out other SRC recipes in group A by clicking below!