Cook With Me #1 : Chilli

Making a batch of chilli (or bolognaise) is something I do pretty regularly at university, as it is pretty cheap, quick and simple to make and I can freeze it in to individual portions and take them out the night before I want them for a quick, easy meal.

This recipe is a slight modification to the one found the book Nadiya’s Kitchen, and I love it! 🙂

Ingredients (makes 4 servings):

• 500g minced beef
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Handful (4-5) mushrooms
• Carton of Passata (500g)
• 1 tin red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• Tomato Puree (optional – I like things quite tomatoey so like to put it in)
• 1 tsp chilli powder (I use mild chilli powder)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• Rice, Tortilla wraps (for making it in to burritos) or a jacket potato or whatever else you wish to serve it with

1. Brown the Minced Beef in a large pan with some oil (I use vegetable oil)
2. While the mince if browning, chop up the onion and crush the garlic
3. Once brown, add the onion and garlic to the pan. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the pan.
4. Chop up the mushrooms, add to the pan, along with the passata, tomato puree, and spices (and salt/pepper if you wish – I rarely use salt or pepper in my cooking).
5. Let it simmer for a while then serve with rice/potato/wraps.

Like I said, I portion this up and freeze some when it is cool. I think it probably costs less than £5 to make (assuming you have the spices, tomato puree and rice accompaniment already as store cupboard ingredients). 

If you have a try at making this, let me know 🙂 What is your favourite food to make?