Slow-Cooked Habanero Chili

I changed this up a bit to make a vegetarian chili. It is the best chili I've ever had - was a hit with the hubby too, so much that he even ate all the leftovers and he's not a leftover type of guy. The changes I made are instead of using the turkey - I used 1 bag of morningstar veggie crumblers (it's a meat free sub for ground beef). I chopped up the garlic for the recipie and combined the veggie crumblers with it and zapped it in the microwave for 2 min before I put it in the crock-pot. Topped that with one chopped onion. I didn't have black-eyed peas, so I used navy beans instead. I also didn't have a fresh habenero, so I used 1 tablespoon of La Anita Habenero salsa instead. I also added another tablespoon or so of brown sugar, and I forgot to leave the corn out at the beginning, which wasn't the frozen kind, it was canned, I just drained it. I was nervous about putting in so much basil, but oh my - is it ever good. It really makes the dish! I made it for the first time last week and already made it again because it's so delicious. I topped it with shredded marbled cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

This chili recipe was a fun change of pace. The corn provides a sweet contrast to the earthy background flavors. We made burritos with the leftovers (using tortillas, cheese, and sour cream) that were equally as good.