Vegetarian Bloody Mary Bean Chili

1. Combine black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans in a large bowl and cover with fresh water; soak for at least 15 minutes.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms, onion, bell peppers, and banana pepper. Cook until they sweat their juices and are slightly tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes more.

3. Drain beans and add to the pot with the vegetables. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, Bloody Mary mix, and tomato paste. Add chili powder, salt, oregano, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

4. Simmer over medium-low to medium heat, uncovered, until as thick as desired, about 1 1/2 hours.

Cook's Notes:

Chili is very forgiving; if it's too thick, add more liquid. If it's too runny, add tomato paste or another can of beans and simmer longer to cook off extra moisture. You can also just blend a cup or two of the chili in a blender and add it back to the pot!

Feel free to substitute tomato juice or V8(R) for the Bloody Mary mix. You can use 2 jalapeno peppers in place of the banana pepper. 1 tablespoon brown sugar can be used instead of the white sugar.

If you want to make this with meat, step 1 would be to brown 1 pound ground beef/turkey in the pot with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium or medium-low heat. When cooked, drain meat and set aside. Then follow this recipe as written. Keep in mind, if you add a pound of meat you will likely need to add another can of Bloody Mary mix or tomato juice, otherwise this recipe will be too thick.