Meatless Monday - Chili

My Vegetarian Chili

I have a confession - I did not make this chili. I could have, but instead my hubby did. Woo hoo!

Ingedients:

3 Tablespoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 small chopped onions
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
2 cups of water
1/2 can of kidney beans
1 package of veggie ground

To be honest, I usually add diced carrots and celery but this week we didn't have any. We're too poor... Actually I just didn't buy any because I thought we already had some.

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to the directions on the package.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pot for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat.

3. Add your onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes and then add your mushrooms and cook for another five minutes.

4. Now you can add all of your spices, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Cook on low-medium heat for 15 minutes.

5. Put your veggie ground and kidney beans in and mix it all up! Simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Serve and eat!

This photo is with white pasta, not whole wheat.

Super simple, super delicious and you don't even need hamburger! I'm serious! My family, including meat eating dad, loves veggie ground!

Pasta - $1
Onions - probably less than $0.15
Canned Diced Tomatoes - $1.25
Tomato Paste - $0.75
Kidney Beans - $0.77
Mushrooms - $1.00
Veggie Ground - $3.99

Do I really need to factor in the spices and olive oil?

Total cost = $8.91 to feed a family of 5

And just so you know, we always have leftovers. My camera battery died while trying to photograph the process of cooking this meal. It wasn't charged until all of the whole wheat pasta was gone, so my picture above is with white pasta. Unfortunately whole wheat pasta doesn't appeal to everyone in the family.

Thanks,