Genuinely Tasty Chili Con Carne

     My sister talked about how she loves Chili Con Carne, eats it at least once a month with her husband, but only from heating pre-cooked chili con carne pouches.   Imagine her surprise when I said that I know how to cook it.  

    If you have the patience to cook the beans yourself, then that would be wonderful, but not many have the time, so I'm going to be straightforward and tell you that there is no shame in actually purchasing canned cooked beans from the supermarket and still achieve the taste you want.  

Sorry for the pic I've shown you here. This is all I have left before I could take a snap this noontime.  Basically, this is leftover in a matter of minutes!!!  (pointing a finger at my nephew) I'm just glad I can take a pic before it disappeared into thin air!

Preparing the Dish

What You'll Need:

1 can of cooked red kidney beans 

1 can of tomato chunks or diced (I use S&W brand with roasted garlic)

1 can of garbanzo beans

1 small can of green peas

1/2 can of black beans ( 1-2 tbsp if you're using the salted ones, drain or wash off the juice)

1 medium sized white onion, finely chopped

3 medium-sized, red tomatoes, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

250 grams tomato sauce

worcestershire sauce

chili powder

Tabasco

brown sugar 

1 beef cube

oregano

water

3 red bell peppers, finely chopped

2 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 K lean ground beef

What to Do:

1.  In a saucepan, put olive oil, then saute garlic and onion in low heat until onion becomes translucent.  

2.  Add chopped tomatoes and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.  Add the beans and and the tinned tomatoes (save the juice for later).  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

3.  Add oregano, bell peppers, chili powder, and worcestershire sauce. Grate in 1/2 beef cube and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

4. While simmering the sauce, heat meat in pan to seal the meat till meat is cooked.  Grate in 1/2 beef cube.  Then, add the saved juice from the tinned tomatoes.Add a bit of water and let it simmer for up to 5 minutes.

5.  Add the meat to the sauce.  Then, add the tomato sauce.  Add more oregano. Let it simmer for 8 more minutes or until beans are fully cooked.  Adjust taste by adding worcestershire sauce, oregano, a tbsp of sugar and tabasco (depending how hot you want it to be).

6.  Let cool. 

Letting it cool first before giving the final taste test is important for me to get the correct taste.  Then, when you're ready, heat it up again before serving.  

Chili Con Carne is best served with garlic bread, french bread or homemade croutons.  It also fits perfectly with steamed rice.  

Preparing the Bread/Croutons

You'll Need:  

Bread (of your preference)

parsley, chopped (optional)

olive oil

garlic powder

parmesan cheese

1.  Slice the bread according to desired size.  

2. Brush heated pan with olive oil, add the bread slices evenly and drizzle with olive oil on top.  

3. Add garlic powder, a bit of parmesan and you may also add chopped parsley.

4. Top with chili con carne and sour cream and serve while hot & crispy.




    Have fun, enjoy and do let me know what you think! :)