Three Bean Chili

Complements: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook

1 cup pinto beans
1 cup kidney beans
1 cup black beans
8-10 cups water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
28-ounce can diced tomatoes
14-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2-1 cups bean cooking liquid or water
2 teaspoons sea salt
2-4 tablespoons cream cheese (optional)(I added this to the recipe. It makes a nice creamy chili.)
shredded cheese for topping (I added this as well. :))

Rinse the beans and place them into a large bowl. Add at least twice as much water as there are beans and soak overnight or for 6 - 8 hours. Drain off all of the soaking water from the beans, rinse well, and place into an 8 quart pot with the water. Simmer for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender and cooked, set aside. (You can use canned beans if you would like. Use one can of each bean.) Heat a large 8-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add olive oil and onions; saute for about 5 minutes or until onions are soft. Then add the crushed garlic, sliced carrots, chopped green bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano; saute for another 3 minutes or so. Then add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, bean cooking liquid (I didn't add any extra water, because I wanted a thicker chili. You can add what you need to get the consistency you want), and cooked beans. Simmer for about 1 hour. (After I sauteed the vegetables I added all the ingredients to a crock pot and cooked for 4 hours on high) At the end of cooking time add the sea salt and cream cheese. After serving top with shredded cheese. Enjoy!