Have you ever been hit by a sudden craving for Chili Con Carne? Because surprise surprise, I had this sudden urge for Mexican food and I just KNEW I wanted Chili Con Carne.

Super random, I know. I haven’t actually tried Chili Con Carne EVER, but all the YouTube videos I watched made it look so yummy and I figured it would probably be quite similar to ground beef taco sauce. Given I already had ingredients from my previous taco experiments, I decided why not!

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

DELECTABLE SIDE DISH FOR THE DAY: CHILI CON CARNE

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SERVING SIZE: Good for 6 PEOPLE (main dish)

PREPARATION TIME: OVERNIGHT

COOKING TIME: 60 minutes

 

Ingredients to prepare

Chili Con Carne Sauce

• 2 Knorr beef cubes
• 1 cup red wine
• 800g crushed tomatoes (I use Hunt’s)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250g Tomato sauce (I use Clara Ole)
• 5 pcs Crushed chili
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 pc dark chocolate

Chili Con Carne Filling

• 2 green pepper, diced
• 2 onion, chopped
• 600g ground beef
• 600g dried kidney beans (if you have canned beans, then you can use more)

 

Step-by-Step instructions to make Baked Potato Wedges

Step 1: Prep the dried beans overnight

Soaking the beans allows the dried beans to absorb water, which will then start the process of starch decomposition. By doing so, you’ll end up with the following:

• Softer, more edible beans given a shorter cooking time
• Beans that are triple the size when you purchased it (since it expands after it soaks in the water)

This step is simple – just do the following:

• Pick through the beans, and make sure to discard any discolored and shriveled beans
• Rinse the beans well
• Place the beans in a large pot. For each pound (2 cups) of beans, add 10 cups of cold water. Cover then refrigerate overnight
• Drain and rinse beans soaked with fresh, cool water

Step 2: Prepare the chili con carne filling

• Wash the 2 green pepper, cut lengthwise then remove the stalk and the seeds. Chop into small cubes

• Dice the 2 onions, then crush the 4 cloves of garlic and 5 pcs chili

• Over a medium heat fire, start cooking the green pepper and onion until softened. This would take ~5 minutes

• Afterwards, add the ground beef and cook until browned. I know it’s tempting, but don’t stir the beef. Let it rest so it can cook faster. After ~2 minutes, flip it so that the other side gets browned

• Pour in 1 cup of red wine, and crumble 2 Knorr Beef cubes into the mix

• Stir in 1 can of chopped tomatoes, chopped garlic and tomato sauce. If you’re using tomato paste, you can add water to make it saucier

• Dump in all the spices (cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, oregano) and the crushed chili. I know I gave measurements above – but tbh, I just dumped stuff in LOL
• Last but definitely not the least, stir in a small piece of dark chocolate (around the size of your thumbnail). Of course, mine was like double the size. I used Ghirardelli – yum! This will add a sweet counterpart to the spicy kick of your chili

• Bring it all to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low. Cover, and let simmer for 45 minutes. In between (every 10 minutes), stir the pot to make sure the sauce or other fillings doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or it isn’t drying out. If it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and lower the heat

Step 3: Cook the beans

• Stir in the kidney beans. After adding them in, bring the pot to boil again. Cover the lid for another ~10-30 minutes. If it looks too dry, add a little more water. I was a bit too overzealous and ended up adding too much water… Ideally though, your sauce mixture should look thick, moist, and juicy – whereas mine ended up a bit watery

• Taste test the beans to see if they’re soft enough for you. Once ready, turn off the heat and leave the chili to stand for 10 minutes prior to serving. This gives sufficient time for the flavors to mingle

Step 4: Bon Appetit!

Serve with sour cream and grated cheese. In my case, I added potato wedges for the sides -yum yum!