Chilli Con Carne
1 can of diced tomatoes (796 mL / 28 fl oz)
1 can of tomato paste (6 oz)
1 pound of lean ground beef
2 sticks of celery
1 onion
1 cup of white mushrooms
1 can of bean medley (15 oz)
1/4 cup brown sugar
hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
The Chilli Con Carne is the spicy stew better known as Chilli – which actually means spicy peppers with meat! I like my chilli’s quite thick and hearty as it’s a meal when I make it, and not a topper. I also like to use beans in my chilli as it helps thicken the chilli. Besides, without the beans, it just doesn’t seem the same.
I first start by chopping up my mushrooms, onions and celery and browning the meat in a pan with a tad of seasoning. When it’s all brown and there are little bits of goodness in the bottom of my pan, this is the stage where I add in the tomato paste and then I place the browned meat in to the crock-pot.
In my empty pan, I now put in my veggies, sauteing them until they are tender – and I put it in my crock-pot.
Now, I basically put everything else into the crock pot – I open up the canned diced tomatoes and pour out the liquids, and just put the tomatoes in. The can of beans needs a good rinsing before going into the crock pot as well, and I mix everything together with a bit of salt, couple dashes of hot sauce and some brown sugar.
I set this on low for 8 hours total. I did dig in when the 8 hours wasn’t up yet for lunch, and it was really good! I bought myself a nice crusty bread to absorb all the sauces and it was a delicious lunch. For dinner, we enjoyed it with some mashed potatoes. Chilli can go with anything, so here’s where you can be creative!
