Recipe: Chilli con Carne with Creamy crushed new potatoes

This is one of my favourite chilli recipes, as well as one of my favourite potato dishes too! Sounds really weird to mash up new potatoes with yoghurt, but trust me, it is absolutely delicious. Must be much healthier than the normal buttery mashed potato I make too! Bit of a lazy chilli recipe i suppose, what with using pre-made sauces/ tins for things, but you end up with such a nice flavour at the end of it, without having to use a whole cupboard full of expensive spices. I crumbled up burgers for this recipe, simply because they were good quality burgers from the Co-op that were reduced in price substantially, so thought i'd give it a go- works a treat in a chilli it turns out!!

Chilli con carne with creamy crushed new potatoes (serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion, diced
4 beef burgers (weighing around 450g in total), crumbled
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
300g tomato and chilli pasta sauce
1 tin kidney beans in chilli sauce
500ml chicken stock
2 cubes chocolate
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste

750g sliced new potatoes

300g Greek yoghurt
15g chopped chives (plus a little extra for garnish)
Plenty of salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion, beef, garlic, chilli, coriander and tomato puree for 10 minutes, or until the beef has been browned. Add the peppers and smoked paprika and fry for a further 2 minutes.

2. Add all the other ingredients, and cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the sliced new potatoes for about 25 minutes, or until soft but not falling apart.
3. Drain the new potatoes, mash together with the Greek yoghurt and chives, and season well. Season the chilli to taste, and serve this with the crushed new potatoes, with some extra chopped chives garnished on top.

Recipe: Mel's Perfect Chilli con Carne, with Tomato Salsa

This is my perfected, utterly delicious, beef chilli recipe. Perfect with rice, with cheesy mash, in soft tortilla wraps, or just in a gurt big bowl on it's own!! Spiciness can be adjusted to personal taste, through keeping the seeds in the chillies or adding more. I rarely deliberately promote the use of organic meats, as I know many, like me, are on a budget, and we can't always afford organic products. Always stick to free-range though, no batteries for me! It's just, for me, with this perfected chilli recipe, organic beef mince does make a difference in the flavour I think.

Mel’s Perfect Chilli con Carne, with fresh tomato salsa (serves 4/5)

Chilli

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large handfuls fresh coriander, chopped
2 rashers smoked bacon, diced.
1 red chilli, seeded and diced
1 green chilli, seeded and diced
500g organic beef mince
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tsp cumin
700ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
150g mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
50g galaxy milk chocolate
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Salsa

4 large ripe tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, finely chopped
Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of half a lime
½ tsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper

1. Fry the red onion, coriander, garlic, chilli and bacon in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook for a further 10 minutes on a high heat, browning the mince. Add the tomato paste and stir in for a couple of minutes. 

2. Add all of the other ingredients, and cook on a low heat for 1 hour. Meanwhile, mix together all the salsa ingredients together and set aside. Season the chilli to taste, and serve, with basmati rice and topped with the salsa.

Recipe: Chicken Fajitas, with a tomato and spring onion salad

This is the first proper meal that i've made for my new housemates! So cool! My south african house mate Brendan, who i get on fantastically well with, really liked this dish. Aw- i'm glad I can hopefully keep the (4!) boys i'm living with happy through feeding them lovely things! This is a really tasty, quick and healthy dish- and you can make it as mild or as spicy as you like, just depending on personal taste. You can adjust the cayenne pepper and the chilli in the dish- or you could add some spicy salsa or jalapenos to the wraps just before eating. Yum!!

Chicken Fajitas with a tomato and spring onion salad (serves 3)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts, sliced
½ green pepper, sliced
½ red pepper, sliced
½ yellow pepper, sliced
½ white onion, sliced
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
1 tsp Thai yellow curry paste
1 tsp Schwartz vegetable seasoning
¼- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it!)
1 red chilli, finely chopped
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

6 medium or 3 extra-large tortilla wraps.

250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp French dressing
Big handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1.       Add all the fajita ingredients to a large frying pan or saucepan, and fry on a high heat for about 25-30 minutes, or until everything is well cooked and the chicken and veg have started to blacken a bit/ stick on the pan. Season to taste.

2.       Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C, and put the tortillas, wrapped in cling film, into the oven for 8-10 minutes. Mix together all the salad ingredients, season to taste and set aside.

3.       Take the wraps out of the oven, fill them with the chicken fajita mixture, and serve with the tomato salad, and some natural yoghurt if you so desire.

Recipe: Mexican Tortilla Soup

This is one of the nicest soups I make- and you all know by now that i generally make a lot of them! Its sweet, spicy, tangy, filling, and so moreish! Topping the soup with crushed tortillas gives the soup such an interesting texture as well. I think traditionally tortilla soups are garnished with roast chicken and avocado slices, which you are more than welcome to do- I just didnt do it because my mum is vegetarian and also can't stand avocado!!

Mexican Tortilla Soup  (serves 3)
 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced
1 green chilli, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tin chopped tomatoes
650ml vegetable stock
1 tin black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
100g tinned sweetcorn, drained
1 tsp lemon juice
Large handful fresh coriander chopped (plus extra for garnish)
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Crushed tortilla chips for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish

1. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the oregano and cumin and fry for a further couple of minutes.
2. Add the tinned tomatoes and stock, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans, sweetcorn, coriander and lemon juice and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
3. Season to taste, and serve, with some fresh coriander and crushed tortilla chips.

Recipe: Perfect Chilli

Everyone has their preferred "perfect" chilli recipe, and this one is mine! Sometimes I alternate it a bit, depending on what i have in the fridge, I might also chuck a rasher of bacon in there, some mushrooms, or have a mix of different coloured peppers- but the spices and herbs I use in the chilli is really what gives it it's lovely flavour. A lot of people put a bit of dark chocolate into their chillis, but I started putting hot chocolate drinking powder in it, as I don't really like or eat chocolate much- but always have hot chocolate drinking powder in the house. Sounds like an odd ingredient but it sweetens as well as thickens the chilli. If making this in a larger batch for a crowd or a party, I find it's nice to serve it with rice, tortilla wraps, nachos, sour cream, salsa and guacemole on the side for people to grab a spoonfull of chilli and garnish with whatever they fancy.

Perfect Chilli (serves 4)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Big handful fresh coriander, freshly chopped (plus extra for garnish)
500g lean steak mince
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
100g tinned chopped tomatoes
400ml beef stock
1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 tbsp chocolate drinking powder
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onions, garlic, chilli and coriander in the olive oil on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Increase the temperature and fry the mince for about 5 minutes, or until beginning to brown.
2. Add the tomato puree and spices, and cook in for a couple more minutes. Add all the other ingredients and cook on a slow heat, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Season to taste and serve, with extra fresh coriander on top.

Recipe: Avocado and Feta Salsa

Yes that's right, another feta recipe! I ought to get Apetina to sponsor me or something, haha! This sounds a bit unusual but trust me it works- the saltiness of the feta goes so well with the avocado, it's ace. It works fab as a guacemole-like dip for nachos and things, on the side of mexican/south american dishes, or actually it's very nice on toast- kinda like a bruschetta topping. If you dont have cider vinegar use some lemon juice or anything acidic- it's mainly just to stop the avocado from browning.

Avocado and Feta Salsa
1 Ripe Haas avocado, peeled and diced
80g feta, diced
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
½ red chilli finely chopped
Handful fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together, season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Spicy Radish Salsa

Phew- this recipe is just a little bit spicy!! I suppose the heat of the dish completely depends on what type of chilli you use, but i just used a normal red chilli that you get in packs from the supermarket and the dish ended up rather pokey! This recipe is nice though as you get the cooling elements from the radish (which are in season not btw)and cucumber, the sweetness from the apple, and then the spiciness from the red chilli. This is nice to have with tortilla chips, chilli, or on the side of any type of mexican dish really.

Spicy Radish Salsa

12 large radishes, diced
60g peeled diced and seeded cucumber
60g peeled and diced apple
1 red chilli, finely diced
Juice from ¼ a lemon
1 tbsp freshly chopped mint
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, season to taste, and serve!

Recipe: Chorizo and Potato Enchiladas

This is a delicious comforting mexican dish that i served me and my brother the other night whilst i popped over to watch Game of Thrones. OMG i love this series, so much so that i pop on a bus to my parents house just to watch it (because we don't have Sky at my new house- lame!). Of course I always end up cooking dinner whenever i head over to my parents house, so at least i'm doing something over there when I visit other than just watching loads of TV. The tomato sauce i used for these Enchiladas was a pre-prepared Jamie Oliver tomato and chilli sauce, which was very spicy but worked very well, but you can of course use whatever type of tomato sauce you and your family prefer. Oh, and also, if you end up with any chorizo/potato mixture leftover, its great fried up as a brunch the next day with a fried egg!

Chorizo and Potato Enchiladas (serves 4)

800g potatoes, peeled and diced finely
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced finely
2 garlic cloves, crushed
160g chorizo, diced finely
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
8 large tortilla wraps
1.2kg jar tomato sauce (a spicy tomato sauce if possible)
200g cheddar

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 5 minutes, drain, and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. In a large sautéing pan, fry the onion, garlic and chorizo in the olive oil for 10 minutes. Add the blanched potato, and fry for a further 10 minutes, stirring often. Once the potatoes are soft and browned, season this mixture to taste, and set aside to cool.
3. Stuff the potato chorizo mixture into the tortilla wraps (there may be some extra mix left). Lay the stuffed tortillas into baking dishes, pour tomato sauce on top of them, cover with cheese and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve!

Recipe: Sweet Potato and Chilli Bean Pie

This is sooo scrummy! A really comforting lunch that I made this damp and dreary Easter monday. Theres something very comforting and nice though about being all cosy and warm with a big bowl of food indoors, whilst looking out at all the cold rain outside. I feel a bit scared about the next couple of months though, ive got so much Uni work to do! I', having to write a 2000 word lab report on making a smoothie. Yeah i'm actually not joking!! I tend to serve this dish with some sour cream or herby yoghurt, as it does have a slight kick to it!

Sweet Potato and Chilli Bean Pie (serves 4)

20g butter (plus extra for the mash topping)
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Large handful fresh coriander, chopped
1 leek, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
½ tsp garam masala
1 x 41g Schwartz Chilli con Carne recipe spice mix
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Pinch of sugar
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of milk
1 tsp cumin seeds
15g finely grated parmesan

1. Sautee the onion, carrot, garlic, chilli, celery, coriander and leeks in the oil and butter for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, and boil the sweet potatoes for about 25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Add the garam masala, chilli spice mix, tomatoes, and kidney beans to the vegetable mixture and stir until well combined. Season to taste, and pour into a baking dish, and smooth over until even. Preheat the oven to 200C.
3. Drain and mash the sweet potatoes with some butter and a little splash of milk, until the mash is smooth. Top the kidney bean mixture with the sweet potato mash, smooth over, and create a lined pattern with a fork on top of the mash (this helps the topping to get crispier).
4. Top evenly with the cumin seeds, and then the grated parmesan, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Finally, put under a hot grill for about 5 minutes or until the top has browned and has turned slightly crispy. Serve!

Recipe: Spicy Bean and Watercress Soup

So I still had another pack of watercress in the fridge that had been in there for aaages and it had to be used up, so I thought I would make another soup again. I have got such a bad cold at the moment, just sniffling and sneezing all over the place, so I thought I would make something a little spicier than i normally would too, so that I could actually taste it properly! However, i felt like i didn't want to make the traditional milky/potato-ey watercress soup, so i decided to be a little experimental and just chuck in loads of bits and bobs from the fridges/ cupboards that needed using up. It turned out to be absolutely delicious, and Nick loved it too (and was surprized by how spicy it was as well!). It is important you try and pick pretty much all the stalks off the watercress- because you want it to wilt in the soup just like baby spinach would- takes about 15-20mins to trim but it's worth it, you can just do it during stage 2 whilst the soup is bubbling on the stove. You can also blend all of the soup if you want it smooth, but this time I wanted a bit of texture.

Spicy Mexican Bean and Watercress Soup (serves 3)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium white onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sundried tomato pesto
100g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 medium potatoes, diced
1 tsp cumin
Small handful fresh coriander, chopped finely
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
1 x 215g tin Discovery Mexican Spicy refried beans
75g watercress, trimmed of all stalks
Salt and pepper to taste
Philadelphia or sour cream for garnish (optional)

1. Sautee the onion, celery and garlic with the butter and oil in a pan for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pesto, tinned tomatoes, potatoes, cumin and coriander, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the stock and sugar, bring to the boil, and cook on a medium/high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the refried beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Add the trimmed watercress, and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste, and blend 3 large landlefuls of the soup in a blender (about a third). Return the blended soup to the pan, stir, season to taste, and bring back to the heat. Serve, each bowl garnished with a tsp of Philadelphia or sour cream if you like.

Recipe: Chilli Garlic Chicken, with Smashed Carrot and Parsnip

A recipe using the old and the new- from the last harvest of my summer chillies, to the lovely seasonal winter root veg! To be honest i probably shouldn't be blogging right now- i've got a lot of packing and organising to do!! Going to Iceland on saturday (and no- not the shop!! No chicken tikka bites for me!!). Will update you all on my shinanigans when i get back, promise! The root vegetable "smash" doesnt look amazing I guess, but the flavours in this dish are to die for!

Chilli Garlic Chicken with smashed carrots and parsnips (serves 3)

The chicken
3 large chicken breasts
50g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 little hot green chillies
25g fresh coriander, stalks and leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp crushed ginger
Salt and pepper

The mash
350g parsnips, peeled and diced
700g carrots, peeled and diced
1 tsp cumin or dukka
2 tbsp single cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix all the chicken ingredients (except the chicken!) in a food processor. Put the chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish, and rub the butter all over the breasts. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes (Halfway through cooking process, baste with the juices).
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Boil the parsnips and carrots in salted water for 20 minutes, or until soft. Remove the chicken from the oven, and remove the chicken from the juices it’s been cooking in.
3. Drain the vegetables, and mash with the cream, cumin, and all of the juices from the chicken. Season to taste, and serve alongside the chicken!

Recipe: Chicken and Kidney Bean Enchiladas

Now this recipe does make A LOT- I reckon if you used all the filling mixture in one go then you could probably make about 20 wraps (serving 6-10 depending on personal greed and whether you are serving them with a side dish or not). I love enchiladas because they are very quick to make, and because of their texture- i enjoy the contrast between the soft tortilla and filling, and the slightly chewy cheese topping. This isn't an incredibly authentic mexican recipe for enchiladas, but it's a good weekday supper, that can be adapted to feed an army, or to feed a couple of people with the rest frozen for another time.

Chicken and Kidney Bean Enchiladas(serves 2- 10,depending on how many wraps you make)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp Schwartz Cajun seasoning (main ingredients: chilli powder, cumin, and oregano)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 vegetable Oxo cube
2 tins kidney beans, drained
1 x 340g tin sweetcorn
400g cooked shredded chicken
Large handful fresh coriander
Salt and pepper
5 Discovery soft plain tortilla wraps
1 Jar Doritos Mild Salsa
150g grated cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Fry the red onion, garlic and Cajun seasoning in the olive oil for 4 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, garam masala, oregano, paprika and the Oxo cube and cook for a further 4 minutes, stirring often.
2. Mix in the kidney beans, sweetcorn, chicken and coriander, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and set aside to cool down a little bit. Get a tortilla wrap, put a few tablespoons of the chicken mix into the wrap, and then wrap it up. Put these wraps into a baking dish side by side (I can fit 5 into mine).
3. Spoon a jar full of salsa evenly over the top of these wraps, and then top with 150g of cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, and then grill for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to gratinate. Serve!
4. You will have a lot of the filling mixture left, and you can now either repeat the cooking process with more wraps/more salsa/more cheese- or you can freeze the filling and use at another time. It will last a month in the freezer, make sure to properly defrost before using again.

Recipe: Honey Paprika Chicken, with Avocado + Tomato Salad

This is just simply a lovely dish- an easy way to get big flavour into lean meat. The smoky flavour of the paprika compliments the sweet honey very well, and the cooling avocado and tomato salad cuts through the sweet spiciness of the chicken perfectly. A quick mid-week meal, that's really good for your health- the natural oils from the avocado really help to maintain beautiful skin, hair and nails.

Honey Paprika Chicken, with an avocado and tomato salad (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
2 large chicken breasts

1 avocado, stoned, skin removed, and diced
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
20g finely chopped red onion
Handful chopped coriander
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Salad leaves (optional)

1. Mix the olive oil, honey, smoked paprika and a little salt and pepper. Coat the chicken in the paprika mixture, and marinade for 30 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 220C oven (or 200C fan oven). Put the marinated chicken (and all the marinade!) into a baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes, basting half way through.
3. Meanwhile, add the avocado, tomato, coriander, and balsamic vinegar to a mixing bowl. Mix, season to taste, and serve alongside the chicken, with a handful of leafy greens.

Recipe: Mexican Spiced Potatoes and Green Peppers

Well, my lucky parents are sunning it off in Cancun (Mexico) at the moment, and whilst im stuck in (to be fair, quite a sunny) Blighty i thought i would make a nice Mexican dish to make myself feel slightly less jealous. I say slightly- my mum has been texting me about some of her escapades out there- she has swam with Manta Rays man! Arghhhh here comes the green eyed monster!!! And what's funny is that for my Film Studies A2 lvl we have been studying Mexican cinema too! Anyway, this is such a super tasty dish, lovely by itself but also very nice as a tortilla filling, with salsa, lettuce and sour cream. Ps: Yes i know, Lancashire cheese is hardly traditional Mexicana! But it goes well so why not?!

Mexican Spiced Potatoes and Green peppers (serves 4 as part of a mexican feast!)

1 kg potatoes, (I use red rooster) peeled and diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves very finely chopped
100ml olive oil
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sugar
Handful coriander, roughly chopped (plus extras for garnish)
Salt and pepper
A couple of tablespoons of grated Lancashire cheese (Optional garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
2. Put all the other ingredients, except Lancashire cheese, into a large mixing bowl. Add the potatoes with PLENTY of salt and pepper, mix together well, so that all the ingredients are well mixed and all the ingredients are coated well in the oil and spices.
3. Pour the ingredients from the mixing bowl into a roasting tray, and put into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and stir around a bit, and cook for a further 15 minutes.
4. Transfer the roasted mixture into a large bowl, and garnish with extra coriander and Lancashire cheese.