Busy schedules cause us to eat on the go because we don’t have the time to prepare dinner and eat it too. How can you fit in a home cooked meal in the short window of time you have between family activities? While fast food is quick and convenient, it’s not something any parent wants to turn into a habit.

Making meals ahead of time for those busy days is an easy way to ensure you feed your family healthy nutritious foods. This recipe for hearty chili with pinto beans is made with our versatile bean soup base. The base can be made and frozen on a weekend so you can use it throughout the week in your recipes saving you precious time when fixing dinner. An assortment of onions and peppers are combined with Randall Pinto Beans and chopped tomatoes to give the chili a full bodied texture. Anchovy paste provides a saltiness to the chili, but can be replaced with Worcestershire sauce or a dash of soy sauce. To make this chili vegan friendly, simply omit the anchovy paste. You can make the chili ahead of time as well and reheat it for a quick weeknight meal. Add various toppings like grilled mushrooms (pictured below) or the traditional shredded cheese, onions, sour cream and crackers.

Hearty Chili with Pinto Beans

1 red onion, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 Vidallia or sweet onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 Serrano pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tbs chili powder
7 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
4 tbls olive oil
2 1/2 cups Hearty Vegetarian Bean Soup Base (click here for the recipe)
6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
2 cups Randall Pinto Beans
1 28oz can chopped tomatoes
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and saute until vegetables are softened. Puree the bean soup base with vegetable stock until well incorporated and thick, set aside. Add the minced garlic, chili powder, cumin and anchovy paste to the vegetables and cook until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer. As with most soups, the longer the flavors meld together, the better this chili will taste. You can make the chili ahead of time and reheat it for a quick weeknight meal.

Great Northern Beans are an important part of a healthy diet