A friend of ours sent us this Cooking.com meat free recipe to try out. I love that Angela and I (along with our families) have become “official” taste testers for meat free recipes.
My oldest son, Owen, and I loved this recipe. The rest of the family not so much – which I expected since they don’t like black beans. I had a back up pasta dish for them. This recipe made a large amount of chili – I ended up freezing half of it for Owen and I to eat at a later date. And that was after taking out some to eat as left-over’s the next day at lunch.  I would say for a family of 4 you could easily half the recipe and have plenty for everyone.
Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili
INGREDIENTS
| 1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed |
| 1 tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil |
| 1/4 cup mustard seeds |
| 2 tablespoons chili powder |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin |
| 1/2 teaspoon  cardamom seeds or ground cardamom |
| 2Â Â medium onions, coarsely chopped |
| 1 pound  mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and sliced (4 1/2 cups) |
| 8 ounces  tomatillos, husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped (about 4 tomatillos) |
| 1/4 cup  water |
| 5 1/2 cups  mushroom broth or vegetable broth, homemade or canned |
| 1 6-ounce can  tomato paste |
| 1-2 tablespoons  minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce |
| 1 1/4 cups  grated Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese |
| 1/2 cup  reduced-fat sour cream |
| 1/2 cup  chopped fresh cilantro |
| 2Â Â limes, cut into wedges |
Directions:
1. Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts water. (Alternatively, place beans and 2 quarts water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour). Drain beans, discarding soaking liquid.
Black beans post-soaking over night
2. Meanwhile, combine oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Place over high heat and stir until the spices sizzle, about 30 seconds.Add onions, mushrooms, tomatillos and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and stir often until the juices evaporate and the vegetables are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and chipotles (with sauce); mix well.
Tomatillos
Cooking vegetables prior to adding to beans in slow cooker
3. Place the beans in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the hot mixture over the beans. Turn heat to high. Put the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy to bite, 5 to 8 hours.
4. To serve, ladle the chili into bowls. Garnish each serving with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro. Pass lime wedges at the table.
Happy Eating and keep those recipe suggestions coming!