Kevin's Favorite Recipes - Vegetarian Chili

I've made this recipe more than any other single recipe in my life. It's tasty, healthy, easy, and although it's best on a cold evening I enjoy it all year around. This recipe makes enough for 4-6 bowls of chili, but sometimes if we need to stretch it out we'll serve it Cincinnati style - over spaghetti. To round out the meal, I'll usually serve it with cornbread or toast. Like most of my favorite recipes, this comes from Cook's Illustrated (with some minor modifications).


Taste: 4/5
Convenience: 4/5
Health: 5/5
Cost: 5/5 (Provided you already own the required spices)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
9 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt
2 14.5 oz cans of beans (I use one can of kidney beans and one can of black beans), drained and rinsed
2 cups water
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained of excess juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp juice from 1 lime

1) Toast the cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, oil, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2) Stir in the beans, water, tomatoes, oregano, and brown sugar, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chili is slightly thickened, about 25 minutes.

3) Stir in the corn and continue to simmer until heated through, 5-10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cilantro and lime juice, and season with salt to taste.