A Simple Chilli Con Carne

One of the staple dishes that I cook regularly for our household and is a Chilli Con Carne.  It was my sister, who now lives in Australia, that gave me the recipe for this dish and I've been cooking it ever since.   I have, however, altered the recipe slightly to make it a bit more frugal.  (She used two tins of tomatoes and two tins of kidney beans and no peppers).

The following ingredients are what I usually use:

300g Beef Mince
1 large onion diced
1 green or red pepper diced
1 tin of kidney beans drained
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
A squirt of tomato puree
Pinch of pepper
1.5 teaspoons of chilli powder
A splash of Worcester Sauce

I start off by frying the mince in a large saucepan with a little olive or vegetable oil until browned.  I then add the diced onion and pepper and heat for a little longer until these have softened before adding the tinned tomatoes, drained kidney beans, pinch of pepper, tomato puree, Worcester sauce and chilli powder.  I then simmer this for 30 minutes while I cook the rice, before serving with a little grated parmesan on top.

For the rice, I use a mug full of basmati rice to two mug fulls of boiling water.   The rice should be rinsed under cold water first for the best results but I must admit I rarely do this.   I bring this to a boil and then immediately put the pan lid on and move it on to the lowest heat possible for approximately 20-30 minutes, until all the water has soaked into the rice and it is nice and fluffy. 

This method of cooking rice was taught to me by a friend I met when my daughter was young.  Prior to this, I always had difficulty getting rice to be a nice consistency and not sticky or undercooked.  I do, however, use brown basmati rice, which may take a little longer than white to cook.   

I realise that everyone has a different idea of how to cook rice, but I have found this method very useful and the rice seems to cook just right.

This recipe usually makes 4 portions of mild chilli, which my daughter can eat, but if you like your chilli hotter, you can add chopped fresh chilli peppers or more chilli powder to taste. You could also make a vegetarian version of this dish using Quorn mince.

As there are only 3 of us, I tend to put one portion of the chilli, minus rice, in the freezer to have with a baked potato on an evening when I need a quick meal that takes little cooking.  It can be easily defrosted and then reheated in the microwave.

Here is a picture of the finished dish.