Chilli Cheese Bake

Although we have had a relatively mild winter this year we are still enjoying our hearty warming winter foods this January. This is a family favourite made into something deliciously special with the addition of some good quality sharp cheddar, the use of local beef, organic tomatoes and fresh herbs.

You can adjust the spices in this recipe and add an additional can of tomatoes if you like more of a sauce too.

Click here to jump straight to the recipe

You can serve this classic up with some warm tortilla wraps, crispy taco shells or quite simply with some crispy oven baked potatoes and seasonal salad.

I love using my cast iron pan for this recipe, its so perfect! My pan is well seasoned now and works really well as a non-stick pan which can be used on the cooker and then in the oven to finished off the recipe. Just be careful and remember not to grab for the handle when taking it out of the oven. I have done this a few times. Ouch!

Local produce…

I have been making a real effort to spend more of my grocery budget on foods that are local to me and I bought my mince from a lovely family run farm shop called Edendiack Farm.

They sold a large variety of fresh meat products, pies, sausage rolls etc. and a good selection of fresh vegetables, eggs, sauces and other condiments. I’ve added in a link below for my more local blog visitors or if your touring the countryside up here in the North they are definitely worth a visit.

https://www.facebook.com/edendiackfarm.huntly/

They also visit local farmers markets! I love my local farmers market and spend a good chunk of my monthly food budget there supporting small businesses and buying the best local foods I can afford.

Chilli Cheese Bake Recipe

2 tbsp of butter or olive oil

1 onion chopped finely

2 carrot cut into small cubes

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp of chill powder (or less)

2 tsp of paprika

2 tbsp of ground cumin

1kg of good quality beef mince

1 tin of kidney beans

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp of tomatoe puree

a little stock (if necessary)

3 good handfuls of grated organic cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat the olive oil up in a cast iron pan or other large pan. Fry the onion, carrot and garlic for a few minutes.

Add the spices and the beef mince and cook stirring for around 10 minutes. Add in the kidney beans, tomatoes, puree and a little stock if necessary and cook for a further 20 minutes on a low simmer.

Remove from the heat and top with the cheddar cheese and some dried herbs if you fancy.

Add to a warm oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly hot. Serve with fresh bread, in wraps, tacos or with some vegetables or seasonal salad on the side.

Organic Produce…

Mr Organic’s delicious chopped tomatoes are used in this recipe.

I try to use Organic where I can for my family and selected these delicious tinned tomotoes for this dish from Mr Organic. I recently became an ambassador of Mr Organic foods and will be sharing some of their products with you in the future. They are one of my favourite brands and I only work and share brands that I feel fit my ethos and I have been using their products in bulk for quite some time now.

https://mr-organic.com/