..where teens can learn to cook restaurant quality meals for the family
Chilli Con Carne
Chilli con carne is worth learning to cook. So long as it has the core ingredients in, you can pretty much steer it whichever way you like. We really like it served with limes, cheese, and sour cream or plain yoghurt. And as spicy as you can tolerate.
ADJUST SERVINGS
Most of our recipes are for 4 people. You can check and adjust the serving size by clicking on the red number above.
GET SHOPPING!
This is a reminder to check what ingredients you need to buy and add them to your shopping list. It’s good to do your own food shopping, but at the very least, you’re head chef, so send a family member out to the shops for you!
GET ORGANISED
Remember ‘Skill 2’ of the Big 5: Become super-organised.:
Add your own private notes:
Equipment
- Large pot with lid
- wooden spoon
- chopping board
- chefs knife
- Sieve/Colander
- Ladle
- measuring jug
Ingredients
- 1 kg Ground beef
- 800 g Canned kidney Beans drained
- 800 g Canned chopped Tomatoes
- 250 ml Boiling water for beef stock
- 2 cubes beef stock cubes You'll add 2 cubes to 250ml water, which will make a stronger stock than your packet says! (Usually it's 1 cube to 500ml water)
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 cloves Garlic finely diced
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1 White Onion finely diced
- 1 Red Pepper
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Ground cumin
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder (adjust this to taste)
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Optional to serve
- 1 cup Rice
- Grated Cheddar Cheese
- 2 Limes
- 1 tbsp Sliced jalapenos in a jar
- Sour Cream
- 1 handful Fresh Coriander
Instructions
Prep in Advance
- Dice your 1 White Onion and set aside in a bowl
- Finely chop your 3 cloves Garlic and set aside in the same bowl as your onion
- Wash and dry your 1 Red Pepper and cut into roughly 1cm squares
- Then set aside in same bowl as the onion and garlic
- Drain and rinse the kidney beans then set aside in a separate bowl
- Fill your kettle with water and boil
- Measure out 2 tbsp Paprika, 2 tbsp Ground cumin and 1 tbsp Chilli powder into a small bowl and stir. Note: you may wish to reduce or even add more to the chilli powder to suit whoever's eating
- Then into the same bowl measure out 1 tsp Oregano, 1 tsp Ground coriander and 1 tsp Sugar then stir to mix
- Once your kettle has boiled, add 250 ml Boiling water to your 2 cubes beef stock cubes. This will make a stronger stock than usual. We want the intense flavour, but with less water.
- Great enough cheddar cheese for who you are serving to, then set aside
- Cut your 2 Limes into even wedges (that means down the long length of the lime) then set aside
- Wash and dry 1 handful Fresh Coriander then finely chop
- Grate a medium sized bowl full of cheddar cheese (enough for everyone to sprinkle some over their dinner when it's served up)
- Spoon some of your sour cream into a small bowl and serve on the table with a spoon. Maybe a couple of dollops of sour cream per person!
Let's Cook!
- Heat 1 tbsp Olive Oil in a large pot over medium heat
- Add the bowl of vegetables, frying until they begin to soften.
- Increase the heat, add 1 kg Ground beef, breaking it up and frying until browned
- Stir in 2 tbsp Tomato Puree then your 250 ml Boiling water simmering for a few minutes
- Add 800 g Canned chopped Tomatoes and 800 g Canned kidney Beans and stir well
- Pour 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce and stir
- Pour in your bowl of spices spices, and a splash of water
- Pour in 1 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp Ground black pepper (or to taste) and stir well
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, covering with a lid
- Simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can simmer it for shorter if you don't have enough time, but we'd aim for at least 45 minutes minimum! The longer the better to enhance the flavour. Set a reminder to get your rice cooking so that it an be served up when the main meal is ready. Your rice might take 30 minutes to cook, so do the maths, and set an alarm to get it on the heat on time.
- Cook your 1 cup Rice (see our how-to to get the perfect rice). Keep the lid on.
- Squeeze the juice of half of one of your limes into the pan. Best way is to roll the lime against a hard surface (like your chopping board) so that you feel it get soft inside. This releases the juice. Then cut it in half (across it's 'waist'!) Then squeeze the juice out over the pan, catching the pips with your other hand and letting the juice slide between your fingers.
- Stir the lime juice in, and taste it. Does it need more lime juice? If so, do the same with the other half of the lime.
- Remove the lid and simmer until the sauce reaches your desired consistency, adjusting seasoning as needed
- Serve over your rice garnished with your chopped fresh coriander and a lime wedge per person from the second lime. You may also like to sprinkle some sliced jalapenos over each meal (adding green makes this dish look so much better) and serve a bowl of cheese and sour cream on the table too.
Please share with us how you went!We need your feedback so we can improve the recipes and help others succeed! Please let us know by leaving a comment 🙂