Black Bean and Italian Sausage Chili

I love chili.  Not like.  LOVE.  If I could be a judge in a chili tasting contest, I'd drop everything in a heartbeat.  My only problem is I don't like bell peppers, and no matter how much my mother will tell me you can't taste the bell peppers in something, I will detect it.  I can't even eat a slice of plain pizza that was in the same box as a slice with peppers.  Therefore, I find other veggies to throw in and get my heat from spices.  Just a heads up in case anyone wants to throw a chili cook off for me.  Hint hint nudge nudge.

When I first moved to LA I was super concerned about the money I was spending on food.  Like peanut butter and jelly for lunch everyday and only half a glass of orange juice instead of a full one at breakfast kind of concerned.  But I still wanted to cook myself tasty and healthy dinners.  I found that I could keep carrots and celery for long periods of time without them rotting, so those were my go to veggies for everything (as you might be able to gather from some of my recipes that spawned from this time frame in my life).  I would splurge on other kinds of meat every once in a while when my mom made me feel guilty for not getting enough protein, but I was still sick of chicken.  That's when this recipe came to fruition.  I knew I had a can of black beans sitting in my cabinet waiting for a day that I wasn't eating half of my free hoagie at work while I saved the other half for lunch the next day at my other job.  I can be pretty cheap when I want to be.  I also knew that I had divided up my italian sausage splurge in my fridge and needed a way to use it up before it went bad and I decided never to buy that delicious creation ever again because I would die a little every time I had to throw out wasted food.  Yes I am that dramatic.

Therefore internet ideas were sought out and thus the inspiration was found to save my shrinking stomach from it's misery.  It's a combination of all different kinds of chili I've had over the years with whatever I used to have in my kitchen when I first moved out here and was getting my life together.  It's an ever evolving process.

The method I used for this was a way to cook it quickly because I didn't have a crock pot until recently, but if you are so inclined, this can also be simmered on low in a crock pot all day so it's ready for you when you come home at night.  It would probably taste even better that way.

Black Bean and Italian Sausage Chili

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of Italian Sausage
1 15 oz can of Diced Tomatoes, with juice
1 15 oz can of seasoned Black Beans
1/2 cup of Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup of Chicken Broth
1/2 of a large Carrot
3 stalks of Celery
1/2 of a medium Onion
2 cloves of Garlic
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 Tbsp of Cumin
1 tsp of Oregano
1 tsp of Basil
1 tsp of Cayenne Powder
1/2 tsp of Thyme
1 Tbsp of Chili Powder (if you don't want it too spicy, only put in half)
1 Bay Leaf

Directions:

In a large pot pour in your tomatoes, black beans, chicken broth and tomato sauce.  Cover and let cook on high while you chop your vegetables.

Chop up the carrots, celery and onion.  Sauté with olive oil and minced garlic until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add vegetable to beans along with spices and bay leaf.

Cook sausage until no longer pink, about five minutes, and add to pot.

Cover and cook for at least twenty minutes more.

Serve over rice.