“Bello” Chili and Giveaway
Thanks for all your kitty name suggestions!! It was so hard to choose. I called the kitty by all the names trying to figure out which one he best responded to.
Turns out Bello, or Baby Bello, does the trick.
Bello is also Italian/Spanish for beautiful and a nick name for a handsome man. I’ve been adding a spanish accent to “Bello” for some flare!
The first night I had him, he ran around my feet as I made dinner, whining for attention. I was making chili with portobello mushrooms and called him “bellowing portobello.” Bello Stuck. Sometimes he takes the command “bello” a little to literally. He bellows in the same manner as a two-year-old child. Hopefully it’s just a phase and he won’t need a name change when he gets older.
Here is the the meaty, meat-less, mushroom chili I made that evening. I had chili on my mind, not just because it was cold out, and was determined to create a flavor-packed dish. I ‘hit the nail on the’ with this chili. It was delicious and in typical chili fashion, was even better the following days. I also loved that it had portobello mushrooms 
Meatless Mushroom Chili
Yield: ~8 servings
This is a great dish to make on a Sunday evening and re-heat for weeknight meals. Pair the chili with warm bread and avocado slices or a dollop of plain greek yogurt for the perfect finishing touch.
2 large ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded, halved
4 cups no/low sodium vegetable broth ( a 1-quart or 32 oz. box)
3 T. EVOO
5 portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean, gills cleaned, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 T. smoked paprika
1 T. cumin
1 T. coriander
1 t. cinnamon
3 bay leaves
S&P
- Place the halved ancho chilies in a pot with the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low to keep warm while you work with the vegetables.
- Heat EVOO in large soup pot over medium-high heat. Allow the diced mushrooms to brown the the oil for ~15 minutes. Add the chopped onions, garlic, S & P, paprika, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Cook for ~5 minutes or until the onions soften.
- While the onions soften, puree the vegetable stock and ancho chilies in a blender.
- Add the ancho/vegetable stock mixture, beans, tomatoes and bay leaves to the mushroom chili. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat to allow the chili to thicken.
I hope you enjoy this delicious soup as much as we did!
****
In return for all your suggestions for kitty names, I will send one lucky reader chili-in-a-jar (dried mushrooms and all), my favorite granola, almond butter and other foodie treats! Leave a comment telling me one or all of the following:
- Healthy habits you follow.
- Healthy habits you want to add to your lifestyle.
- Recipes you think need a healthy make-over.
- Tweet via button below or subscribe and tell me in the comments that you did so.
This giveaway is open until Sunday, January 16 at midnight. A winner will be announced Monday morning.
♥ With love from Bello (the kitty and the mushrooms) ♥
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Aww I love that you named him Bello… so sweet! Definitely fits that adorable face!
1. never feel forced to clear my plate if I’m not hungry.
2. drink more water!
3. most Italian food could really use a healthy makeover.
4. tweeted!
1-3. Agreed
4. You rock!
1) I drink a lot of water
2) Do more cross training
3) Not so much recipes, but just general areas: school lunches need a DRASTIC change. This is something that I am very passionate about. I know that some changes are being made, but a lot more is still needed!
4) Tweeted!
I want to follow eating less at night; I’ve gotten into a bad habit with that.
I also have added a lot more water.
We have pretty much gotten rid of all of the chemical cleaning supplies in our home. ( just thought that I would add that )got a total gym and am looking forward to using it at least five to six times a week.
I love Italian food but always feel it is to high in calories and carbs!
Thats great that you got rid of the chemical cleaning supplies!!…and I’m jealous of the Total Gym! I’d be on it 5-6 times/week too. Have fun!
Bello is adorable !!!!
I love the name Bello!
Eat a breakfast!
Bello is sooo adorbale! How precious!
I’m gonna have to try that meatless chili! I love mushrooms!
i never thought to put mushrooms in chili, i love it.
Seeing as mushrooms are my ALL TIME FAVORITE FOOD (is that weird? people seem to think so…) I love that you names the little cutie Bello!
And i would like to be more of an intuitive eater.
The vegetarian chili rocks!
I drink a lot of water and exercise atleast 5 days a week, sometimes 6.
I eat mostly healthy food(90% of the time), but too much of healthy is also not good, I need to seriously work on portion control.
Portion control is a big one for me too!
Healthy habits I follow:
1. Keep a positive mindset!
2 – Eat lightly; each meal should contain a complex carbohydrate and a lean protein. Keep away from the fat foods or salty snacks. Keep your sugar and salt level moderate in your body.
3 Do not smoke; there is no positive fact on smoking. It causes the human body to deteriorate at ridiculous level. Also be aware of second hand smoking. It can be just as harmful.
4 – Consume alcohol in moderation. A bottle of bear or glass of wine each day is realistic. It relaxes the mind but more than three servings daily are a bit much risky for our body.
5 – Sleep 8-9 hours each night (when I can!)
6- Make sure I pray each night for the blessings I’ve been given
Healthy Habits I want to add to my life style:
1.Working out in DIFFERENT ways, Start doing different workouts that constant tredmill or elliptical.
2. I’d like to stop being such a procrastinator when it comes to school work as well, it’s healthy to manage your time wisely, Something I need to work on is that. I think I may make a calendar page on my blog to track my dates of projects and school work just to keep me in check.
Recipes that need a healthy make over: Brownies!
I know that brownies an be made so much healthier than many people make them, When we have such amazing chocolate available to us (cacao powder, cacao nibs and dark chocolate) we should be using those instead of regular milk chocolate. I literally just posted a recipe I made yesterday of a healthy Version of Brownies! It looked like this:
Raw Vegan Brownies
12 servings
1/2 c dried dates
1/2 c dried cherries
1/4 c carob powder (or cocoa powder)
1 c walnuts
3 tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
This is a healthy version of brownies and they taste so rich and sweet!
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win!
Great healthy habits!
The calendar sounds like a great idea to keep tract of school projects, etc. I bought a planner and that REALLY helps!
p.s. I’m loving that brownie recipe! I also have a healthy version, but I’m going to go look at yours right now!
Thanks for your wonderful comment!
I need to try a new brownie recipe where can I find your healthy version!?!