Vegetarian Chili recipe created by Bill Telepan for P.S. 87

Description:
Periodically at Lyla's school they have a special wellness day where parent volunteers get involved to prepare and serve a super healthy meal for the kids. Bill Telepan (of the UWS restaurant Telepan) is a parent at the school and is very involved in making the school lunches healthier. This recipe is very simple but I've tried at least 5 chili recipes that Lyla hated and after having this at school we were given the recipe and Lyla has given it her official thumbs up.

I used one can of each of the beans listed.

Ingredients:
2 ounces vegetable oil

1 onion-small dice

1 red pepper-small dice

1 green pepper-small dice

1 jalapeno-seeds removed & minced (i skipped this for kids)

4 cloves garlic-minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 ounces tomato paste

1 28 ounce can diced tomato

3 14 ounce cans beans-can be black, kidney, chickpeas-draining about half of the liquid (i rinse the beans and drain the juice...if you want juicier you can follow recipe and/or add extra water)

Directions:
-place oil in a pot and on medium heat, add onion, peppers and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-add spices and paste and mix in well.

-add tomatoes and a half a can of water and a simmer for about 20 minutes until thick.

-add beans and simmer for about 5-7 minutes