The days are turning colder and the nights are getting darker. What better than to stay in the warm and cook. As a student I know that cooking meals day after day can be expensive. So a great idea is to bulk cook and freeze it, or buy ingredients that you can use in different ways.
Bonfire night is well known for sitting around a bonfire and keeping warm. Getting hungry? How about instead of a burger or a hot-dog from the vender, try a baked potato. It’s simple. Take a baked potato, wrap it in tinfoil and stick it at the bottom of the bonfire with a stick. The bottom of the bonfire is where all the heat is so watch your hands! Leave it there for 45 minutes or so and then take it out and dig in. You can simply add some butter and it will taste delicious! Make sure to use a stick to take your potato out from the bonfire and not your hands!
Another great food to warm you up on those winter nights and great to bulk cook and freeze is Chilli con carne. Once you’ve finished eating your portion and the rest has cooled down, simply separate it into freezer bags.
Ingredients:
500 Grams of mince beef
1 pack of Mushrooms
1 onion
1 Green pepper
1 red pepper
1 tin of chilli beans
3 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 Pack of Schwarts, or colmans or Whatever brand Chilli con carne Mix. (Or if your feeling up to making it with your own herbs use Garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, Majoram, oregano, bay leaves, paprika, chilli flakes and a pinch of sugar)
You will also need:
A large cooking pot.
A frying pan
A knife
A wooden or plastic spoon
A wooden or plastic spatula.
Method:
- Start off by putting your cooking pot on a hob on low and adding your tomatoes and chilli beans and giving it a stir. Leave it to slowly heat up
- Next fry your mince. You won’t need oil as the juices from the mince will be what you’re frying your vegetables in. Use your spatula to separate the mince to make it cook more quickly. Once it has cooked, scoop your mince into the large cooking pot leaving the juices/fat behind in the frying pan.
- Chop up your mushrooms into quarters (for a chunky chilli, or slice them for a less chunky one), dice your onions and cut your peppers in to bite size pieces. Fry it all together for about 5 minutes with the juices from the mince, until your onions have caramelized and your mushrooms are soft and the peppers are still crunchy. Then scoop all of that into the cooking pot.
- Add your packet mix (or herbs), sprinkled over the top and mix in. Then add a knob of butter and stir.
- Leave to sit and cook slowly on the hob on a low heat.
- Eat and enjoy. Serve with a jacket potato, Doritos, chips or rice and a sprinkle of cheese on top.
Tip : If it’s too tomato-y add some gravy granules or an OXO cube. If it’s too spicy, add a pinch of sugar and some Ketchup.
