Chilli con Carne (y con mucho, mucho amor)

I haven't posted anything this week. If it looked like laziness on my part, I want to assure you it was not. I've been very busy and we all know, time flies. I was looking at the stats and I noticed that you've been checking me out even though the blog was frozen still. I really appreciate your reading the outpourings of my heart. This week I have cooked some delicious bites for Mike and me, for my father and for guests, and on Wednesday we ate out in a Japanese restaurant. 

A couple of days ago I made Chilli con Carne, and I should add ... con mucho, mucho amor. Making Chilli con Carne must be a deliberate act of love. Love for this amazing combination of herbs and spices, meat and fresh veggies, and passion for a country whose language, history, people, and music I love. In a nutshell,  Mexico Lindo Y Querido. 

This amazing and ridiculously easy dish won't take you longer than 20-25 minutes, if you have everything cleaned, washed, pealed, cut, chopped, diced and you are ready to rock :)

Chilly con Carne 

Type of cuisine: Mexican/Low-Fat

Difficulty: easy

Time: preparation time- 15 minutes, cooking time- 25 minutes max

chilly con carne with guacamole, salad and tortilla chips

You will need

half a kilo of minced lean beef

half a can of diced tomatoes or 4 tomatoes

a 450g can of kidney beans

spring onions

1 red onion

1 red pepper

1 tsp paprika

 a tiny pinch of cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

a pinch of sugar (to sprinkle over the tomatoes)

a pinch of hot chilli (or more, if you can handle it) :)

4 cloves of garlic (crushed)


a pinch of salt

Method

In a wok fry the red onion in a spoonful of olive oil. Add the crushed garlic and the minced meat and let them brown. Work in the spices (cinnamon, cumin, paprika). Open a can of diced tomatoes and add half a can with a tablespoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle some oregano. 

Cut the red pepper finely (I hate large chunks of vegetables when I cook Mexican) and add it to the meat.

Season with salt.  Add chilli powder to taste.

5 minutes before the meat is cooked, open the can of kidney beans, drain the water and mix with the beef.

Chop the spring onion and incorporate gradually. 

There are many reasons why I love this dish. Here are just a few.

• I am all for any low-fat meal. I cook Chilli con Carne  mainly in the evening, so I feel guilt-free having a second helping (if I wish to do so)

• I am not always in the mood for slow-cooking. This dish is done in the blink of an eye. 

• It gives me another reason to make guacamole! 

• Because I love mariachi, traditional Mexican music and Alejandro Fernandez, and I hum along the songs (but only when I'm certain nobody can hear me) *embarrassed*

the heart of an avocado