Slow Cooker Chili Con Carne (and Cheeky Enchiladas!)

OH MY GOD. I've not posted in ages. I was on night shift and I just forgot to update. To make it up to my poor, neglected blog, I will post my absolute favourite recipe that I've made recently. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be happy. NO JOKE.

I have always been put off the recipes for chili that call for big hunks of braising meat, preferring to cook with the safety of my minced meat. The cooking times just seemed too daunting – I never start dinner so early!

However, with my trusty slow cooker on board, I don’t think that there is anything we can’t do. So the second thing I ever made in it was my absolute favourite meal in the world. I think a good chilli con carne is probably my favourite meal, because of the flavours and versatility. You can serve it with beans, with sweet potatoes, with rice, ensconced in a tortilla wrap, atop nachos, and I’ve even been known to smother it on a half baguette, top with cheese and bake in the oven! I mean, you could easily double this recipe and dine out on leftovers for days without getting bored!

Good old chili – is there anything you can’t do?

Side note – I’ve lamented about this before I’m sure, but my darling boyfriend doesn’t like chili. Now, I only realised this for real when we were a few years in, so I couldn’t just ditch him for his poor opinions. His only saving grace is that he likes enchiladas. What I have done here, therefore, is to whip up a chili for me (yum) and then make that into a filling for enchiladas for him. This is delicious on its own, but I’ve added the ingredients and method for if your loved ones are also wrong and hate chili.

Chilli Chicken Enchiladas

Shortly after, I eated this.

Good God, you say, has she found another way to shred some meat and cook it with Mexican spices, wrap it up and eat it?

Yes. Yes, I have. I shall never stop searching for tasty ways to eat meat in a tortilla with guacamole. NEVER!

So, the cold weather is setting in, it's dark when I leave home and dark when I leave work. These are my perfect winter-warmers.

Remember I said life was too short to peel a roasted pepper? I take it back. This original recipe used “hatch chillis” which is something I just couldn’t find in the UK. *shakes fist* So I improvised with peppers and chillies and it was delicious.

Beef and Chorizo Enchiladas

Mexican food is kind of my spiritual savoury cuisine. I only started making and eating it for reals a little while ago, aside from the Ol Del Paso fajita kits of my childhood. I am in a bit of a chorizo phase at the minute, and the only Mexican food that my boyfriend really likes is enchiladas, any rational brain would therefore come up with what follow. 

An aside, I don't measure out cheese ever, hence just calling it a handful here or there. Just listen to your heart (if it sounds clogged and like its begging for mercy, maybe hold back on the cheese).

The sauce is thick and delicious, and the addition of a touch of orange peel really makes it tasty and zesty. My mostest favourite ingredient, however, is the Sriracha rooster sauce. This is so delicious and versatile, it’s spicy with a depth to the heat and goes well on EVERYTHING. Makes grown men cry. And should be easily located in your local Asian supermarket. It will change your life.

One thing: you need a bigger rectangular dish for this than the one I used. I'm on it, the scouting mission for cut price Le Creuset has begun!