Easy Three Bean Quinoa Chili with Cornbread

Fall is in the air, and the things I feel like cooking are changing with the changing season. This week I made a big pot of chili. I suddenly got a craving for it one day when I was at work, so I made it convenience style (with canned beans and canned tomatoes). It turned out really well, and it was quick and easy to make. I also made a batch of cornbread to go with it from the recipe book American Wholefoods Cuisine. This was one of my first vegetarian cookbooks, and I still use it sometimes. It's kind of like a Joy of Cooking for vegetarians- most of the recipes are simple, straightforward, and taste good but kind of lack the emphasis on beauty of more contemporary cookbooks. At any rate, this corn bread is interesting as it uses yogurt and liquid sweetener (it calls for honey, but I used agave since that's what I had on hand), and doesn't include any additional flour, just cornmeal. Overall, a pretty quick and easy fall supper that also makes ample leftovers for lunch.

Easy Three Bean Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic finely minced
3 ribs celery, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 large red pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 25 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 25oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 25oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
2 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup dry quinoa
2 cups broth
Toppings
hot sauce (optional)
cilantro (optional)
grated pepper-jack cheese (optional)

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. When they begin to soften, add the celery and carrots. Cook a few minutes more, and then add both peppers. Cook until peppers are almost soft. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Serve with optional toppings as desired.

House Corn Bread
from American Wholefoods Cuisine
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
3/4 cup cornbread
1 egg, lightly beaten (or realize you are out of eggs and use egg replacer like I did)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 Tbs. honey or agave syrup

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine butter and oil in a 9 inch cake pan or a shallow 1 quart casserole. Place in oven for five minutes to melt. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour into the hot baking dish. return to the oven for 30 minutes until set.  If you want to make a bigger batch, double the recipe and use a 9x13 inch pan.