When I found myself craving meat all of a sudden a few weeks ago, I knew instantly what I was going to make. I hadn’t had chili in a long time. Rice was one of the foods that my stomach didn’t agree with, but since I have been doing pretty okay these past few months and my wheat intolerance seems to laying low, I thought I’d give it a shot. This is a recipe that is non-vegetarian, but if you leave out the meat and substitute it for more beans/ lentils/ mushrooms or perhaps a meat replacement, then you can very easily change it up to be that way.
I like cooking meals that yield a lot of flavor that can be cooked in larger quantities. I freeze them and take them with me to work during the week. That way I will always have a healthy meal on hand and a quick and easy lunch at that. It also saves time as I am not required to cook every day. And don’t we just love a bit of time saving? And with a meal like this, it is even easier to save more time, because you can pretty much have this up and running in the time it takes to cook your rice.
Total time: 30 mins. Prep time: 5 mins. Cooking time: 25 mins. Servings: 6 – 8.
Ingredients:
- Rice (I used half a pack of Fairtrade whole grain rice)
- Ground beef
- 1 large can of kidney beans
- 1 large can of black beans
- 1 oninion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 can of concentrated tomato paste
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Parsley
- Chili powder
- Cajun pepper
- Pepper
You will need a deep pan for making this dish and other than that just one more pan to cook your rice, a sieve and a cutting board with a knife for chopping up your veggies.
Step 1: Cook rice according to packaging
Step 2: Add olive oil to a hot pan, saute your garlic until it is brown
Step 3: Chop your onion and add to the pan.
Step 4: Stir your onion around until it looks glazed.
Step 5: Add your beef & your herbs & spices to taste
Step 6: Stir it up until no more pink bits are left
Step 7: Chop up your bell pepper & add to pan
Step 8: Strain the beans with a sieve and add to the mixture
Step 9: Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste
Step 10: Stir it in until you get a sauce like consistency. Add water if it is too thick.
Step 11: After you have cooked your rice, strain it as well and add to your sauce
Step 12: Ta-dah you’re done!
This doesn’t make for the best looking dish, but it certainly is yummy. Make sure you stir well and heat up the ingredients well in between all the stages and you should be good to go. I like mine with just enough kick from the chili and cajun pepper to make we want to eat this with a glass of water, but not so much that you can barely eat it.
What quick and easy meal would you like me to make next?