Soya Mince Chili

There is nothing like a bowl of hot Mexican tantalizing chili on a Winter’s day, when your mood is low as it is soo dark outside! All you want to do is hibernate in your home.

This dish has definitely lifted my spirits and I’m about to get a second serving.

It is super easy to make it doesn’t take much time and at the end you will be one happy bunny!

Ingredients

300g Quorn Soya Mince frozen

2 medium onions diced

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin kidney beans

4 garlic cloves crushed

2 dried red chili

1 veg stock cube

Salt to taste

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

Fresh lime juice to taste

Method

🌟Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat sprinkle in the cumin seeds, drop in the chili, onion and crushed garlic. Stir until onion looks translucent

🌟Toss in the tin of crushed tomatoes along with the paprika, crumble in the veg cube and season with salt, bring them to the boil gently.  Put in the soya mince into the tomato sauce and mix well.  Throw in the Kidney beans with the brine

Lower the heat and cook the chili for 30 minutes stirring occasionally, squeeze in a little fresh lime

🌟Serve piping hot with tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche

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Baked Half & Half Spinach Macaroni

In our household we do love pasta! We also have a situation where I really like white sauce pasta and my husband very much likes tomato based pasta.

So I decided to come up with the perfect pasta dish to please us both and the children! Macaroni half and half one side red and one side white but spinach in both.

I was naughty, as I had a bit of both! actually quite alot…lol.
It really was a very comforting meal but macaroni cheese always has that effect.
Hope you enjoy D x

INGREDIENTS

For the tomato spinach sauce ~
250g crushed tomato passata
5 cubes frozen spinach (ice cube size)
3 cloves garlic crushed
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar

For the white spinach sauce
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
½ tbsp mild olive oil
Milk
4 cubes frozen spinach
Salt to taste
Pinch of black pepper
sprinkling of garlic granules (optional)
Handful of grated mature cheddar cheese

300-350g macaroni precooked
Cheddar cheese for topping

METHOD

• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add the garlic and passata together. Put in all the seasoning apart from the spinach

• Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Gently add the spinach cubes and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

• In a separate medium saucepan, heat up the oil and butter for the white sauce

• Throw in the flour and form into a roux. Cook on a low heat, stirring throughout for 2 minutes

• Pour in some milk approx 180ml-200ml , add the seasoning and continuously stir slowly. As the sauce starts to thicken add the cheese and frozen spinach, simmer for a further 10 minutes. If the sauce is too thick after this pour a little more milk and stir

• Now that both sauces are ready. Divide the macaroni amount into two. Put half into the tomato sauce and half into the white sauce. Combine well individually

• Use a deep small baking dish and place the tomato macaroni on one side and the white macaroni on the other

Sprinkle generously with cheese, bake in oven at 180°c/gas mark 4 for 10 minutes

• Then put under the grill to brown the cheese. Serve with a crisp fresh salad and some dressing