Easy Chili Mac & Cheese
ingredients:
instructions:
directions, using the butter and milk required. Stir in the can of
chili. the tomato salsa, and the chili powder.
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a casserole dish. Spread
half the macaroni mixture in the dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese.
Top with the remaining half of the macaroni mixture and sprinkle the
remaining cheese on top.
oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbling and the cheese has melted and
is lightly golden brown on top. Let stand for about 5 minutes prior to
serving.
The husband is always after me to cook using things that we have in our store cupboard. He is always complaining about how much we have stored.
For example. I may have six jars of various different olives in my store cupboard, but we are not going to sit down and eat a jar of olives for supper . . . know what I mean?
He might be happy sitting down to a supper which consists of a tin of spam, a tin of new potatoes and a tin of green beans . . . but it's not gonna happen if I have anything to say about it! To me a store cupboard meal is like the one I am showing you here today.
But I have added fresh ingredients such as sour cream, milk and cheese to it, along with some frozen peas. I do tend to have frozen peas in the freezer all the time as well.
It is slowly starting to sink into his male brain . . . but men do take a lot of convincing at times . . . and this is a man who basically ate out of tins before we got married.
This is a tasty casserole. It's simple to make. Easy. Economical and delicious. I think you will like it. I like to buy expensive tuna . . . yes, even in casseroles.
Serves 4 to 6
Bring a lightly salted pot of water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse.
These types of meals are my favourite kinds of meals. I love throwing together store cupboard ingredients and coming up with something tasty. With the weather we had today I was not going out to the shed to get anything so I made do with what I had in the house, and quite deliciously so! Bon Appetit!
Well, I have to say the weather this summer so far has been absolutely horrible! Rainy and cold, cold, cold. As I write this (Thursday June 30th) we are debating on whether we want to put the heat on or not. My sensible side says no, just put on a sweater, but the wimpy part of me wants to give in!
This recipe today is one of those store cupboard recipes that you can make up very easily when you have some meat leftover from a roast chicken or a roast turkey. It uses things I normally always have in my cupboard. Yes, as a North American I do keep mexican style ingredients at the ready. I do love Tex-Mex food.
I always pick up extra tins of beans and chili when they are on special at the shops. They make great store cupboard ingredients.
Sometimes its kidney beans, or cannelini, borlotti or chick peas . . . and sometimes it's refried beans. They always come in handy.
Especially these days when our food budget is very tight, and more often than not I find myself looking for an economical and filling meal for the two of us, but also something which is delicious. These Mexican Pizzas do just that.
They are a great way to make a tin of beans and a tin of chili stretch to feed four people. They are also incredibly delicious. I love them!
They're quick to make and are very, very tasty. I often am able to pick up jars of salsa on special as well.
In any case I always have one or two in the store cupboard, along with pouches of green and black olives, which I also pick up when they are only 99p for each pouch. A real bargain as they are filled with plenty of flavour!
I also pick up extra blocks of cheese when they are on special as well. I throw them into the freezer, which means I also always have an additional source of protein to hand.
Having all these things in my store cupboard means I always have the things I need to throw together a tasty and economical meal at the drop of a hat.
I also make my own tortillas from scratch. I've been doing it for years. You will find the recipe below.
It makes more than you will need for this recipe, but they also freeze very well, so that's not a problem and they come in handy for all sorts.
You can use them for wraps, or enchiladas, or soft tacos. if you don't like to use lard you can use Crisco or White Flora or Trex. All work well.
I do hope you will give these a try and that you enjoy them as much as we do, and when you do that you come back and let me know!
Of course you could make your own chili con carne, or use leftover chili. I just wanted you to know that a tin of chili works just as well and is really handy!
*Mexican Pizza*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Who wouldn't love an
individual Mexican pizza all to themselves, especially when they are
this tasty! (Also very simple to make!)
8 6-inch flour tortillas
1 tin of stag chili con carne
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tin (400g/16oz) tin of refried beans
1/2 to 1 tsp chipolte chili paste (depending on how hot you like it)
1 300g jar of tomato salsa (about 1 cup) divided
3 spring onions, chopped
a handful of green olives, pitted and chopped
a handful of black olives, pitted and chopped
120g of grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
130g of grated Monterrey Jack cheese (1 cup)
shredded lettuce and sour cream to garnish
Preheat
the oven to 200*C/400*F. gas mark 6. Line several large baking trays
with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the
chile and refried beans into a bowl and mash well together along with
the garlic and chipolte chili paste. Place 4 of the tortillas onto the
baking trays. Divide the bean mixture between each and spread over to
cover. Top with the remaining four tortillas, pressing down lightly to
stick together.
Bake them in the heated oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Spread half of the salsa over top of each pizza,
dividing it equally between the four. Mix the cheeses together and
divide this amongst the pizzas as well, sprinkling it over top.
Sprinkle with the spring onions and olives. Return to the oven for a
further 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pizzas are
crisp on the edges.
Allow to cool slightly before serving garnished with additional salsa, lettuce and sour cream. Delicious!
*Flour Tortillas*
makes 14 to 16
Printable Recipe
So easy to do and so much tastier then the shop bought ones.
150g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups all purpose)
100g of strong flour (1 cup bread flour)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fine sea salt
110g of lard or white flora (1/2 cup)
250ml hot water (1 cup)
In a large mixing bowl, combine both types of flour, baking powder and
salt.
Drop 1/2 cup lard by the spoonfuls into flour mixture and, using a
pastry cutter, your fingers or a fork, cut lard until it crumbles and is
evenly dispersed in the flour. Slowly add the hot water and stir
together until mixture sticks to itself. If not quite moist, add 1-2
more tbsp. lard, as needed.
Knead, in the mixing bowl, for 3-5 minutes or until dough forms a ball
and becomes less sticky. Cover bowl with tea towel and let rest for 1
hour.
Break the dough into 14-16 smaller pieces and roll the pieces into
balls. Cover balls of dough for an additional 30 minutes.
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a well-floured
rolling pin, roll one dough ball at a time into a thin, round tortilla.
Make sure the ball is rolled out to be very, very thin. Carefully place
onto the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden, about 30-40
seconds. Flip the tortilla over and continue cooking until golden on the
other side.
Wrap the cooked tortilla in a clean tea towel until ready to eat. Repeat
with the remaining dough.
Serve immediately or, once completely cool, store in an air-tight bag or
container. To warm, wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30
seconds or wrap in foil and warm in oven.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Simple. Delicious. Quick and easy. Your family will love it!
Hunters Chicken is a very popular dish over here and the shops are full of ready meal Hunter's Chicken dishes . . . which are basically two chicken breasts in a foil tin, with some cheese and a slice of bacon scattered over top and a sachet of BBQ Sauce on the side.
And while they are not the most expensive entrees . . . they aren't the tastiest either. I guarantee if you try this dish I am showing you today , you will find it waaaaay more tasty, and you will know exactly what went into it.
Remove the chips from the oven and put them into a gratin dish. Leave the oven on. Top the chips with half of the cheese. Spread the chicken over top of the cheese.
Note - you could also use leftover cooked chicken or turkey in this.
We had the most delicious chicken for lunch last week when we went to our friend's house. It was incredibly tasty, and I think it's pretty safe to say that nobody was worrying about calories that day! (What with this chicken dish and the Malva Pudding and all!) It's nice to indulge once in a while and this chicken was incredibly tasty. My friend Tina got the recipe from her daughter Kim and it was sooo good that I had to make it for the Missionaries when they came for tea. Once again no complaints. I am calling it Kim's Chicken Dish, but it really should be called the Flippingly Amazingly Delicous Chicken Dish!!
One of our favourite suppers when I was growing up was my mother's homemade baked beans. Oh my but they were absolutely gorgeous. She would start the night before by soaking the dried beans overnight and then early the next morning, often even before anyone else was up, she began her magic with them . . . putting everything together and into her bean crock and into the oven, so that by the time we woke up we could already smell the deliciousness that was waiting for us later in the day!
I can hear you thinking . . . Spam and Beans? What is that girl doing now! And I fed it to company no less, as one of a pair of casseroles. It was delicious. Absolutely delicious! One of my guests was a real Spam lover as well, so that was win/win for me. Delicious and popular!
We've had a couple of really cool, breezy and showery days this past week and that has called for some belly warming meals. This is one of my favourites. It's simple and quick to make (like, like) and quite delicious. It's like a thick bean stew, but filled with fabulous flavours that really please!
I have always been a foodie. When I was really young my mom used to give me her old magazines and I can remember clipping recipes from them. I can still tell you how very delicious a slice of her lemon meringue pie was . . . yellow and transparent, covered in a seemingly mile high pile of sweet and sticky meringue . . . this remembered from lunch time when I was about 8 years old. She used to make my brother a small bowl of lemon pudding instead of pie because she didn't think pastry was good for wee ones . . . and it probably wasn't.
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until beginning to brown.
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