Slow Cooked Chilli – Prep Ahead Family Meals

I’ve never made a chilli in the slow cooker before, but have a good standard recipe I’ve always used that a colleague passed on several years ago. It’s delicious and can cetainly be prepped ahead of time.

Pop an onion, courgette and red pepper into a food processor and blitz until they’re finely chopped. Keep in a sealed tub or zipped freezer bag until the morning you intend to cook it. This was another recipe that I also used the food grinder for and again, it worked well. Since I knew I was going to slow cook it, I chose a cheaper cut of meat, braising steak, that was prechopped into chunks, and fed it through the grinder. Don’t forget to check the date on the meat so it’s still in date on the night you need it!

On the day you’re making this meal, pop the meat and chopped vegetables into the slow cooker. (If you have time, fry off the mince and brown it first – if not, don’t worry!) Add a drained and rinsed can of kidney beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes and some chilli powder to taste. Give it all a good mix around and check the liquid covers the ingredients. If it doesn’t, tip in just enough water to cover them. As it’s slow cooked the usual ‘lid-off’ reduction won’t happen as it’ll be covered, so you don’t want too much liquid. Turn onto low for the day and leave for at least 5 hours. If it is still too runny at the end, transfer the crock pot to the hob if it’s allowed, and bubble on high until it has reduced.

Serve with soft tortillas, soured cream and grated cheese.