Delicious, Nutritious Mediterranean Chili

Mediterranean Chili is very easy to prepare and it is very delicious meal.

Directions

In a dutch oven, over medium heat saute:

1 large onion, diced finely, 1 large onion=approximately 1 cup

1 cup celery, sliced thin

1 large green pepper (not red) diced finely

5 or 6 cloves garlic, crushed and diced (see *option below)

Saute vegetables on medium heat for 15 minutes, until the onions look clear.

Next, add 1 lb. very lean ground meat into the vegetable mixture, brown well.

To this mixture add:

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder OR

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cumin

*option use a healthy tablespoon of garlic powder in place of fresh garlic (make sure you are not using garlic salt.)

Let this mixture saute until the meat is cooked through, no pink showing.

Add:

1 large can of diced tomatoes OR tomato sauce. Either works well.

2 cups of beans, if they are canned, include their juice.

An excellent suggestion is to use the black beans that I have provided a recipe for in this Mediterranean Diet page. They are a great option, however, kidney beans or pinto beans are also very delicious in this recipe.

Cover lid, bring up the heat until almost boiling, just until the heat makes small bubbles on the surface of your chili, and then reduce heat to simmer, and leave on simmer for 1 hour (no less).

Serving Suggestions

Serve with