MW day one was successful, after lunch, that is. I truly hate to throw away food, it is an obnoxious waste. I still have a few items in my fridge that fall under the meatless wheatless ban, so I did my part this morning by using up one of the tortillas in a breakfast wrap. Tricia Gail made a ridiculously good buffalo chicken salad for lunch bunch, today. Like I said, it's a slow start to meatless wheatless, but I think I can do it.
Onto the part you care about, how to make Meatless Wheatless Tofu Chili in the Slow-Cooker!
Step 1: Assemble the troops
I really like this recipe because any vegetables that you aren't sure what to do with are fair game. I had 6 or 7 carrots and half of a red onion skulking around in my produce drawer that went into this recipe. I also used half a container of fresh mushrooms.
Step 2: Beans & Sweet, Sweet Hominy
If you haven't had hominy, you haven't lived. It's actually just corn without the germ, whatever that means. I take that back, it's actually just delicious. Proudly displaying your beans and hominy in a delightful Pyrex is not necessary; however, it is lovely to look at.
Step 3: Squeeze!
You need to drain your tofu, otherwise your chili will get too watery and be more like a soup. It's really simple, my sister-in-law taught me this little trick awhile ago and it makes a big difference in a short amount of time. I like to do this step while I'm chopping up veggies. Watch your fingers!
Place your tofu in a pie dish deep enough to allow room for excess water to drain out.
Place an upside down plate over the tofu. Rest a heavy object like a brick, filled tea kettle , or a patient cat on top to create a press. I used a ceramic canister filled with water. There are no patient cats in my apartment or this world.
The weighted plate and the pie dish will create a press for the tofu and squeeze out any excess water. If you really want to take out the moisture, wrap your tofu in a paper towel before you press it. I didn't, because, well, I forgot.
Step 4: All together now...
Combine all your fresh and canned ingredients. Leave the spices until the very end. I goofed and layered everything into the slow cooker. If you do it this way, all your vegetables and beans won't get enough contact with the spices and tomato sauce. Throw all your stuff into a big bowl and allow everybody to get close and cozy with the chili powder and ground cumin. Step 5: Cook, slowly.
I cooked my chili in the crock pot for a little over three hours on high while I was at the gym. If you've got more time to kill, go for 5 or 6 on low. Step 6: Eat your Meatless Wheatless heart out.
This chili is so so good and very inexpensive to make. I've never made this recipe before, but it will definitely make a second, third, possibly weekly appearance in my fridge. I used a small slow cooker for this recipe, too, and it still made a ton. Need ideas for meatless wheatless toppings and pairings?
Brown Rice
Shredded Cheese
Salsa Verde (If you don't know what Salsa Verde is, get on it. It's like tomatoes, pickles, and garlic had an undercover romance. I know, extra scandalous because there are three of them. Not sure who they're hiding their union from? Salsa Verde is the result of this unscrupulous veggie coupling..tripling? I don't care for this pun anymore.)
If you try this recipe out, let me know how it goes! If you aren't going meatless, the tofu can tag in ground turkey or ground beef and the recipe will still be awesome. By the way, if you're new to pepper&poppy, thanks for following and pleased to meet you!
-L
Listening to: Feist, Now At Last
Eating: I'll give you one guess...
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