shadymango

So, last night at around midnight I decided that what I really needed to do RIGHT THEN was to make a vegetarian chili bake. I think it came out pretty bangin' ... here's what I came up with:

Well, I made this as a 'casserole' because I wanted it to have a cheesy crust, but you could just as easily throw all this shit in a pot and just cook it... throwing some cheese on at the end if you so desire. [you know... or not]...

If you are going the baked route, preheat your oven to abouts 375.

4 cans of whatever beans you want- I used kidney and pinto
1 can of corn
1/2 an onion (cause that's what I had in the fridge)
2 cans tomato sauce (but I assume any kind of tomato thing would do... cut up tomatoes, marinara sauce, whatever). Again, this is just what I had.
I bag fake meat (the entire reason I made this thing was to use this up... as it had been sitting my freezer since March--It had defrosted by the time I decided this was how I wanted to make use of it, though).
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp chili powder. No, seriously, trust me. It won't make it too spicy, I swear.
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cumin
-shredded cheese optional
I think that was it...

Get a pretty big baking dish handy...

In a colander I dumped 4 cans of various beans and I rinsed them and let them drain... and drained the corn..
Then I dumped them in a big bowl with everything else but the cheese and stirred it up...
And dumped all that into the baking dish and sprinkled the cheese over the top (about 1/4 bag of shredded mixed cheese and then a sprinkle of Parmesian).
Baked it for about 20 minutes... just keep an eye on it-- when the cheese is nice and melty and getting that nice congealed cheese-crust look, it's ready to be delicious.

Today I ate it cold over a bed of fresh spinach and it was still awesome.

So, here I am, once again staring at the gradually less blank-looking "event box," not really knowing what bits and pieces of thought to jot down... contemplating giving up trying to filter through all the possibilities and just closing the window, defeated by unimportance...
No, not today... I came here to write some stuff, waste some time... and if at all possible, have some fun in the process... deal with it.
Surprisingly, it actually feels christmasy this year... perhaps it's the fiberoptic tree in the living room... or all the 10 ft high, inflatable plastic reindeers and snowmen littering blithe, Lakeview lawns... nah, probably just something I ate.
Sure, I could type more, but why? ... I don't want to over-exert myself or anything... especially with finals so close.