Super Loaded Chili

Last night I threw together some chili using a bunch of the vegetables I had in my fridge (plus some cooked beans I had frozen in the freezer)  My kids totally LOVED it and asked to have it in their lunch today.  It was a great way to get them to eat a ton of veggies and love them!

Here's the recipe.  Let me know what you think!

Super-Loaded Chili

Ingredients:1 lb lean ground protein (you can use beef, turkey, chicken, or even crumbled up x-firm tofu!  If you are using tofu, be sure to press all the water out first)
1 TBS olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 or2 2 green peppers, diced
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 TBS cumin
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
2 large (28 oz) cans diced or crushed tomatoes (for extra spice, use 1 can diced tomatoes with chilis and 1 can crushed tomatoes)
6 cups cooked beans (I used 2 cups black beans, 2 cups kidney beans and 2 cups pintos - if you are using canned beans, rinse and drain them first!)

Directions:
Brown your protein in a soup pot with a heavy/thick bottom.  Once browned, remove from pot and strain over a bowl so all the fat drains off.  Discard fat, reserve protein.
In same soup pot, saute onion, celery, carrots and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until translucent (about 5 - 7 minutes). 
Add remaining ingredients plus the protein and about 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30 minutes.
Serve with warm whole grain tortillas or cornbread.