So, week 2 of blogging… This will be my first week back at uni so my first time management test. And you can probably already tell from the poor quality of photos on this post… I made this chilli just before I headed out for a dog walk at Wimbledon Common. When I came back, I was so hungry that I quickly heated it up with some brown rice and demolished the whole bowl within 2 minutes. Sadly, there was no time for pictures!

If I were ever on Death Row, my Mum’s chilli con carne would absolutely be my last meal. It’s my favourite thing, and can be adapted in so many ways! I bake the chilli for an hour, so it really is a forgiving recipe in the end. For example, this is the veggie version, but you can easily add beef or turkey mince. I used red kidney beans and black beans, but I’ve also used chickpeas and mixed beans before which have been equally delicious! And you can use so many different vegetables too.

As you can probably tell, I like to cook things in big batches that keep well in the fridge. I live quite far from uni and work, so I can’t just nip back home for a meal. Most days, I carry around my lunch and dinner in tubs! This is another example of a great recipe that keeps in the fridge. You can also mix up what you serve it with so that you don’t get bored by the end of the week. This evening, I served my chilli with brown rice. However, I also bought some sweet potatoes for chill with sweet potato wedges, chilli on top of a baked sweet potato, or even just a bowl of chilli with half an avocado sliced on top. However it’s served, it’s great comfort food for October!

On the shopping list: 2 carrots, 2 onions, 2 peppers, a packet of mushrooms (and any other veg you fancy), garlic (I buy that lazy garlic that’s already chopped up for you because life’s too short), 600g passata, 50g tomato puree, 2x 400g tins black beans (only use one tin if you’re adding mince too), 1x 400g tin red kidney beans (I bought the one in chilli sauce rather than water for extra flavour), paprika, chilli powder, and cumin. And then whatever else you want to serve with – sour cream, cheese, guacamole? I will have to post Jenna’s guacamole recipe, it’s THE best.

What next: 

1) Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius.

2) Grating carrots absolutely deserves it’s own step. Grated carrot literally gets EVERYWHERE. `i stupidly grated next to the washed-up dishes so now we have a tonne of clean plates covered in orange specks. However, you cannot taste these carrots and they really thicken up the chilli, as well as adding extra goodness of course. So, grate your two carrots. (Sorry.)

3) Chop your onions, peppers and mushrooms.

4) You will need a large saucepan… The veg will reduce down but initially it seems like a lot! So in a large saucepan, heat up the garlic and onions. Once softened, add the carrot, followed by the peppers and mushrooms. Leave to cook for around 5 minutes (give or take, it doesn’t matter too much).

5) Add the passata, tomato puree, beans, chilli powder, cumin and paprika. The amount of spices is really up to you… I really like smokey flavours but I’m rubbish with spice so I added a lot of paprika and not so much chilli powder. I’m sure you can judge how much to add for your own taste!

5) Stir together for a further 5 minutes or so. Then, put the lid on the saucepan and leave in the oven for around an hour. If you don’t have time for this, you can just cook the chilli on the hob for 10 minutes. However, I think it tastes so much better once it’s been baked so it’s definitely worth it if you can!