Vegetarian “Cincinnati” Chili

Tim’s family is gracious enough to be guinea pigs on some of my recipes. I wanted to make a vegetarian option of Skyline. The Bengals are going to the Super Bowl so, there has been a shortage of packets of the seasonings for making your own. So I thought I’d give it a try. This recipe was inspired from The Chunky Chef.

***this had a kick, so depending on how much heat you like and how fantastic your chili powder is, I would do more or less of the chili powder. 

*** if you use this with ground beef, sauté the beef before adding it to the sauce. 

• 4 cups of water
• 1 oz. Unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 (6oz.) can of tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp of chili powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp allspice 
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves 
• 1/8tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 2 (12oz) packages of meatless crumbles

**we served this over potatoes but you can also serve over spaghetti 

Recipe:

1. In a pot, add the water and turn heat to medium high. 
2. After the water is heated, Add the tomato paste and chocolate stirring for about 3 minutes using a whisk. 
   
3. Add in the chili powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, ground cloves, black pepper, salt, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir and turn heat up bringing to a boil.
4. Add the crumbles. Stir, and turn heat down to medium low heat - there should be a slow bubble. Stir every once in awhile. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until thickened. If you simmer longer it’ll thicken more. If it hasn’t thickened in 20 minutes, turn the heat up for a bigger bubbling but be sure to stir more often. 
5. Serve over baked potatoes or spaghetti with cheese on top. 

***we served this as a baked potatoes bar with cheese, sour cream, green onions, onions, oyster crackers and hot sauce if you’re daring.