EFFORTLESS CHILLI: Budget friendly, low-fat/salt, Triple-Duty, batch cooking

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Beat the Cost of Living Crisis with this effortless low-fat, low-salt chilli with flavours and textures to knock your socks off...

Rich, thick, savoury chilli: budget friendly, weight conscious but nutritious and satisfying

(the first recipe on the Weight loss/pre-diabetes programme)

If you think cooking from scratch is too hard...think again.  If you can chop and onion, open a few tins and measure out a few spices, you can produce an intensely savoury pot of chilli that will knock your socks off.

It uses turkey, not beef, or vegetarian substitutes to reduce cholesterol and fat. Tinned tomatoes not salt-laden tomato paste reduces salt.  And all without loss of flavour.  

The texture is divine and so satisfying.

And the recipe produces a generous pot guaranteeing leftovers that can be frozen for future meals.

This is the recipe that started off 67goingon50 and has graced many a table  since 2015.

Cost: around £5 not including carb, salad and garnishes; possibly less for vegetarians

Serves: 3-4 (recipe easily doubles)

Ingred:
   250gm/9oz minced turkey OR firm tofu OR (67 has not tested this: your  usual vegetarian mince
   scant 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
   1 large onion, finely chopped OR roughly processed 
   1 garlic clove, grated OR generous 1/8 tsp garlic granules 

   1x 400g/14 oz pureed tinned tomatoes OR passata 
   

   1/2 further tin plum tomatoes, kept aside for later

   2 tbsp mild chilli powder OR

       1.5 tbsp mild chili powder + 1/2 tbsp hot chilli powder
   1 small or 1/2 med dried Chipotle chilli, reconstituted in 2-3 tbsp water (optional but adds tons of smoky flavour).

   1/2 tsp smoked paprika
   1/2 tablespoon flour
   1 bay leaves, crumbled

   1/4 tsp powdered cumin
   1/2 tsp oregano
   

   1 400g/14 tin kidney beans, rinsed and drained

   up to a tablespoon of sugar
   pepper & salt

     

   Garnish: chopped parsley

Method:

1. Spray olive oil in a goodsized heavy pot pre-heated over med high.  Add turkey and onions, stirring frequently to break up the meat until it is crumbly and browned.  A potato masher will break up lumps.. (Tofu: rest under a heavy weight overnight to reduce water; crumble tofu or cut into fine dice; either air fry or cook in a frying pan with oil until brown and dry-ish.  Use as with turkey mince.)
   
2. Add passata or pureed pureed tomatoes (rinsing out containers and saving the juice) plus garlic; bring to the boil; reduce heat to med; cook 5 mins
3. Meanwhile, blend chilli powder, flour, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, paprika & chipotle pepper, incl soaking water, if using.   If not using chipotle pepper, add a few tbsp of meat juices and the tomato juices from the tins to make a smooth paste. Stir into the casserole until well blended 
4. Add rinsed, drained kidney beans
5. Cook over a med-low heat on stovetop or in an 180c oven for 1.5 hours or in a slow cooker on low for 4 hours until thick and rich    
6. Add half the tinned plum tomatoes, cutting with a knife or scissors, adding lovely lumps of tomato to the sauce.  Check seasoning but salt sparingly. 
7. Add up to one tablespoon sugar to moderate acidity of tomatoes
8. Dig out the chipotle pepper; either discard, or if you like heat, add a few spoonfuls of chilli juices and blitz to a puree; mix back into the chilli 
9. Serve very hot, sprinkled with parsley:

on its own

with butter-free garlic bread

on rice (brown is better for weight loss but a small amount of white will be ok)

on lightly buttered noodles

on mashed potatoes

on a baked potato       

GARNISHES: 

•  grated cheese
•  finely chopped red onion
•  avocado sliced, diced or mashed with lemon juice and dried chilli
• tortilla chips
• finely diced fresh red chillis 

Comments:

'Fiery and fulfilling; the beans were tender and spicy, as was the turkey. I didn’t know they made turkey mince. Wow I just ate the (hidden) chilli! .'   Political Agent

Tips:

1. If you prefer a milder chilli, leave out the chipotle pepper and when chilli is ready to serve, swirl in some plain sugar-free yoghurt
2. For extra tomato-eyness, squeeze in up to 2 tbsp tomato paste 
3. If too mild, serve finely chopped chillis on the side
4. 67 ran out of chilli and substituted cajun seasoning; it worked but the chilli powder is better. 

LEFTOVERS

1. Cool at least 1 hour at room temperature; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. 
2. Eat the next day but no longer than a further day  OR
3. Freeze.  

1.  PRE-FREEZING TIPS 

• Storage bags should either zip or press shut or be tied tightly with string, rubber band or a length of rolled up cling film. Budget storage bags include common, all-garden sealable sandwich bags; use 2 if they seem flimsy.  Otherwise 67goingon50 has tested Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S, which all worked well.  If the bag has not enclosed raw meat or fish, or anything saucy, it can be washed and re-used.  For very large items, clean plastic carrier bags are ok if sealed tightly.  (To fill bags with soup or stew, place bag in a jug or mug, open top as wide as it will go, add food, clean top of bag; seal tightly.  Lay flat on a tray; freeze and store vertically or horizontally).(If freezing a loaf of bread or several slices, place a small square of greaseproof paper in between; this makes it easier to reach in and remove a single or couple of slices.)

• Storage containers.  Take-away plastic containers from delis and Chinese restaurants make great containers for stocks and broth.  Purpose made plastic storage containers with lockable lids for baked items, sweet or savoury, are reasonably priced but some can be difficult to open.  Nests of plastic storage boxes like those sold by Marks & Spencer are useful and keep cupboards tidy.

• Labels: 67 can usually remember what's in the freezer but has been caught out.occasionall  If freezing lots of different things at different times, special labels and pens are available surprisingly cheaply at newsagents and stationers. 

• Singletons and small iceboxes.  If you only have a small box freezer, be canny.  Use bags and freeze flat on a tray.  Remove tray when frozen; store bags vertically or horizontally so they take up less room.  Bread frozen in single or double slices will defrost faster than a loaf.  If you're planning to do more home cooking to save money, small under-the-counter freezers(eg 2-3 shelves/drawers) pay for themselves 

5. DEFROSTING 

• Ideally, take the item out of the freezer ­­the night before.  Put it on the bottom shelf of the fridge on a plate or in a bowl.  It should be completely defrosted by dinnertime, probably earlier, the following day.  Some people use a defrost function in a microwave but others find their stomachs can't take it.  

• If you are in a rush to defrost...what restaurants do is fill a thoroughly cleaned sink or container with cold water, drop in the sealed bag and let the cold tap run over it in a slow and steady stream.  67 doesn't understand the chemistry but usually the item is is completely defrosted in a couple of hours.   For blocks of frozen raw fish, some professional kitchens dump the block into a clean and sanitized sink and turn on the cold water.  The fish usually defrosts in a couple of hours.

• Bread.  One slice of bread should defrost in 20 minutes.  

6.  COOKING AFTER DEFROSTING 

• Reheat at high temperature for at least five minutes to kill bacteria.    
• Liquids or soupy casseroles should be heated to a full rolling boil, then bubble  on medium high heat for 5 minutes.  Add water or stock to maintain volume and hear through.  Before serving, check seasoning as freezing can blunt flavour. 
• With lasagna or other items that may dry out on re-heating, steaming at a high heat for at least 5 minutes then left to cook through on moderate heat OR or the boil-in-the-(strong)bag technique (again at least five minutes) is effective.  If you haven't got a temperature probe, stick a sharp knife into the centre of the item and carefully press it against your bottom lip...the knife should feel hot.  (Be careful not to burn your lips.) 

 7.  FREEZE ONCE ONLY

     The exception to the rule is fresh meat: it can can be frozen once and defrosted but once  cooked and  cooled, it can be frozen a second time.  

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This recipe has been adapted by B Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission