I'll be easy for your first time.........

Chili. Who doesn't love it? And often, many kinds of meats are used to make it. Ground beef of course, the classic choice. But I've had it made with stew meat, sirlion meat, buffalo meat, turkey, chicken and venison. Some chili I've eaten at contests in bars-simply God awful. I mean they had to have been drunk as hell to think it was good, the weirdest freakin' chili ever can be found at chili cook-offs in some neighborhood bar. So I figure, how bad could substituting the meat with 'smart crumbles', a soy bean based 'meat substitute' really be?? So I tried it.(Pictured: Soy meat chili, IKR? Looks like 'real' chili)

Lets start with the obvious ‘when you’re poor’ meat staple. Which is really kind of a joke now, considering that even the cheapest of hamburger (chuck, not sirloin) is about 6-7.00 a small package-still, its a ‘go to’ for many people. I joke about how white trash Hamburger Helper is-and it is-but its a big part of the typical American diet. The average box of HH is about 1.50, 2.50 for the ‘ultimate.’ However, you have to add your own milk and butter and meat, so really, this meal is not as ‘cheap’ as one might think.
 The brand of fake meat (sounds so gross, right? FU, because if you eat McNuggets, you have turned the fake meat corner a long time ago) is “Lightlife” Smart Ground, and its made from Soy. The Verdict: AWESOME. Even my carnivore for life roommate said “Yeah, this is totally edible, I’ll eat this.” He threw some Sriracha sauce on there and did just that.
RECIPE:
1 small-med yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 pkg Lightlife Smart Ground ‘beef’
1 cans italian stewed tomatoes
1 can Rotell original diced tomatos with chilis (mild if you’re not a fan of any heat)
2 cans dark kidney beans, one can drained but not rinsed, one can drained and rinsed
1 8oz can low sodium tomato sauce (if you can find w/no sugar added, you are a boss)

You can also use tomato paste, chili sauce (beware the sugar)-its your chili, do what you want. In fact, take your own damn chili recipe and just sub the meat with the smart crumbles. Dig?

Sautee green pepper, diced yellow onion and garlic (2 cloves). No need for oil, just add a pinch of water. Once softened, add the ‘meat’. Add tomatos, beans, tomato sauce or whatever the hell you want or however the hell YOU make chili, because everyone has a chili recipe…..and ENJOY. Garnish with jalapeno, scallions. If you aren’t full vegan, use plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream for vegetarian and use a vegetarian cheddar cheese, and of course raw onion too if you like.