Syns: None
Serves: 8
Prep/Cooking Time: 60 mins

This is how I cook up a huge batch of syn-free Chilli Con Carne, which is enough to serve to your entire extended family, or maybe you might like to freeze in portions for future reheating.

If you don’t need such huge quantities of food, then just halve the quantities!

Ingredients

• Frylight or Tesco Pure Sunflower Oil Spray (2 cal per spray)
• 2 large white onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 2 packets (500g each) of less than 5% fat minced beef
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 stock cubes (beef / veg / whatever you have)
• 3 bell peppers (any colour), chopped
• punnet of mushrooms, sliced
• whatever other veggies you fancy or have hanging around – maybe courgettes, carrots, or celery. You can also add lentils if you like.
• 4 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
• 4 heaped tsp paprika (or smoked paprika)
• 4 heaped tsp ground cumin
• 4 heaped tsp ground coriander
• 2 heaped tsp salt
• 4 heaped tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tins of kidney beans

Method

1. Get a soup pot or large saucepan, spray some Frylight or Tesco 2 Cal spray in the bottom (5-10 sprays should be fine), and throw in the chopped onions and garlic, and cook on a medium heat for a few minutes till the onions look slightly translucent.
2. Add the minced beef. Mash away at the mince with your wooden spoon, to break it down into little pieces. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until all the meat has browned.
3. Add the chilli powder, paprika, cumin, coriander and salt. Give the pot a quick sniff at this point, because the spices smell amazing! The mixture is going to be a bit dry at this point, but don’t worry because we’re about to add some liquid.
4. Add the tins of chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree. Stir well.
5. Make up the stock cubes in approx 500ml of hot water, then add to the pot. Stir well.
6. Bring the pan up to the boil, and then reduce the temperature till it’s simmering gently.
7. Chop up all the vegetables that you want to add, and chuck them in when they’re ready. I like to use peppers and mushrooms, but you can add pretty much whatever you like. The idea is to bulk out recipe with as much speed as possible!
8. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add to the pot.
9. Simmer with the lid on for a minimum of 20 minutes – but the longer you let it cook, the better it will taste! Just make sure you check the pot every 10 minutes and give it a stir. If it looks a bit dry, add some water. If it’s a bit watery, leave to simmer with the lid off.

Serve with boiled rice, a baked potato, or some Slimming World chips – or just on its own if you’re avoiding carbs.

If you’re going to freeze this, then make sure you defrost it completely before heating, and make sure it heats to the boil and simmers for a few mins before eating. Also don’t freeze if your meat has previously been frozen – because you’re not meant to freeze meat twice!