What’s for dinner?
I am one of the many people who watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC and decided to try some of the recipes. I personally love to cook and am always trying new recipes. I feel as though when I am cooking for my family, I am showing them how much I love them. My youngest says it best. He says “Mommy made this with love.” That makes me feel good! One of the recipes that Jamie kept talking about on the show was the Chili Beef Nachos. I decided that we needed to try it so I looked up the recipe and found it in the Jamie Oliver Forums. I made them last night and we LOVED it! As you can see, the recipe for the 7 Veg Sauce says it makes enough for another meal so I used it to make spaghetti tonight which was also a huge hit! I am sold! Here are the recipes you need to get started on healthier meals for your family:
Chilli Nachos with Hidden Veg
Try this healthy version of this kids’ favourite. There are loads of lovely vegetables hidden in the tomato sauce but they’ll never know it. I like to blitz up the kidney beans so too, but if your kids don’t mind them feel free to leave them whole. Frozen corn is a great way to get some more veggies into them and will cook straight from frozen in the sauce. Make the sauce first so it’s ready and waiting when you start preparing the nachos.
Serves 6-8
For the chilli
1 tbsp of olive oil
1lb ground beef
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 cups red kidney beans, drained, reserving a little of the canning liquid
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 quart of hidden veggie tomato sauce (see recipe below)
1 x 12oz bag Green Giant®, Frozen Valley Fresh Steamers, Niblets® Corn
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
1 bag corn tortilla chips
1 romaine lettuce, shredded
4 tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup sharp Cheddar, shredded
To cook the Chili
Put a large skillet casserole pan on a medium heat, add a little olive oil and the onions and cook for 10 minutes until soft and sweet.
Turn up the heat, add the beef and brown until lightly golden in colour, breaking it up with the spoon as it cooks.
Meanwhile use a stick blender to blitz up the kidney beans with a little of the liquid from the can until you have a thick paste (or leave them whole if you prefer).
Once the beef is browned pour off any liquid from the pan and stir in the spices.
Cook for a couple of minutes then add the hidden veg tomato sauce and the blitzed beans. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until thickened and rich.
Once your chilli is looking good, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Throw in the Green Giant Niblets Corn and cook for a further 10 minutes.
To serve, put a good handful of tortillas on each plate, spoon over ½ a cup of chilli then top with some shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream and a little grated cheese. Lovely!
Hidden veg tomato sauce
This is a really useful base sauce, which is packed with vegetables. This recipe makes a 2 quart batch but don’t worry if you’ve got leftovers because any extra sauce can be frozen to use at a later date. It’s great in a stew, on pizza, or tossed with pasta.
Makes 2 quarts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
2 zucchini, grated
2 carrots, grated
½ a butternut squash, peeled and grated
a pinch of dried oregano
2 bay leaves
2 x size 2 cans (5 cups) plum tomatoes
To prepare the sauce
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large saucepan and fry the onion, pepper, courgette, carrot and butternut squash for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the oregano, bay leaves and tomatoes, then season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for around 30 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before blitzing until smooth with a hand blender.
Adjust the seasoning to taste.
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