Chilli con carne

I start to crave this recipe if I haven’t had it in a while.  It’s one of the cheapest and easiest in the Retro Kitchen but such a crowd pleaser.  People will think you can actually cook!  Kids gobble it down – although you may want to use less chilli when serving the little darlings.

Old Dad took the photos once again – the poor fellow was in a rush to catch a plane.  So he made me recycle a few of the photos from the spag bol recipe (admittedly there are some common steps).   Let’s hope he’s back safe and well for our next recipe – apricot chicken!

Anyhoo, to the task at hand.  We’ll start with the lifeblood of the Retro Kitchen:

And on to the ingredients:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – as in the spag bol recipe, there’s no price.  Once again, I pinched it from old Mum

2-3 large cloves of garlic – $1.18 per bunch:

1 large brown onion – $1.59 each:

500 g extra lean beef mince – $8.00 per pack:

1.5 green capsicum – around $4 for 2:

140g tub tomato paste – $2.20 for 2 tubs:

400 g tin red kidney beans – $1.96 per tin:

420 g tin corn kernels – $1.95 per tin:

0.5 tspn oregano – $2.30 per jar:

0.5 tspn chilli powder – $3.19 per jar:

4 bay leaves – $1.50 per packet:

You’ll also need rice.  For some reason I forgot to get a photo of this – Old Dad was halfway to the airport by the time I remembered.  You’ll have to use your imagination for a while!

Now let’s get cooking!

Step 1 – crush garlic thoroughly:

Step 2 – chop onion finely:

Step 3 – chop capsicum.  Again, I forgot to get a photo of this.  There’s a bit to the task as you want to avoid certain parts of the capsicum (eg the middle part with all the seeds for example).  I’ll have to get back to you when Old Dad comes home!

Step 4 – pour 3 tbsp oil in deep frying pan and put on medium-high heat.  You may recall from the spag bol my admonition that you’ll regret using any more:

Step 5 – place garlic in oil:

Step 6 – spread garlic out and cook until light brown (watch out – it happens quickly!):

Step 7 – place onion in oil:

Step 8 – spread onion out and stir until it becomes soft and golden – perhaps a little more so than the photo below:

Step 9 – add mince:

Step 10 – the following is verbatim from the spag bol recipe – I just couldn’t seem to improve the words.

Once the mince is flat in the pan, start breaking it down into smaller pieces using your wooden spoon.  You want to avoid large lumps.  That said, you don’t want to pound it so fine that the meat won’t hold the flavours to come:

Step 11 – cook mince until brown:

Step 12: add capsicum and cook for a few minutes until it softens:

Clever dicks will notice that this is a fresh shot not recycled from the spag bol post.

There are two main changes (apart from my clothes):

• I’ve had my watch repaired (I got it for my 16th birthday – it’s ageing better than I am); and
• I’ve gained weight – it’s from all this cooking.   The recipes aren’t fattening but cooking each three times for this blog may well be!

Step 13 – reduce heat.  Add tomato paste and stir:

Step 14 – add 2 cups of water and stir – again I missed a shot of this so I hope you can visualise it for yourselves.

Step 15 – add pepper and stir:

Step 16 – add salt and stir:

Step 17 – rinse corn kernels with a strainer and add to pan:

This shot is at a funny angle.  Maybe Old Dad got to the Yalumba when my back was turned.

Step 18 – rinse red kidney beans with a strainer and add to pan:

Isn’t it starting to look yummy!

Step 19 – add 0.5 tspn oregano and stir.  You may want to add a little more water if it’s starting to look too dry:

Step 20 – add 0.5 tspn chilli powder and stir:

Step 21 – add bay leaves, stir and simmer for a few minutes:

Step 22 – grub’s up, kids!

Step 23 – return to a true bundle of joy: