Eating from the storecupboard: baked bean chilli

 

I had half a tin of Heinz baked beans in the fridge.  They had been there 2 days as I had the other half with my cheesy baked potatoes.  I pulled a portion of tomato and veg sauce from the freezer.  It has tomatoes, onions, 3 types of peppers and grated carrot so is packed with veggies.

I put a teaspoon of oil plus 2 teaspoons of my fajita spice mix in a hot pan and gently fried off the spices for 1 min (or until they smell amazing!)

I added the tomato sauce and let it all sizzle for 1 min then added some water to loosen it.

I let it simmer for 10 mins while I cooked some rice.

Then I added the baked beans and stirred it all together until piping hot.

I served it with plain boiled rice.  It was honestly the best bean chilli I've ever made!!  You could add more chilli flakes to the spice mixture if you like it hotter 🌶 but I find my fajita spice mix is spicy enough for me.  That's the beauty of mixing it yourself 😋

And there's a second portion in the fridge for tomorrow!

Fajita spice mix recipe

 

In today's video I mentioned that I make my own fajita spice mix.  Here's my recipe but you can adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.

• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp mixed herbs (or any dried herb)
• 1/2 tsp salt (less if preferred)

I mix up a big batch and keep it in a jar. It can be used as a dry rub or mixed with lemon or lime juice into a paste.  Good with chicken, beef, peppers and onions! 😋

Here's my pull out spice rack.  If I pull it out too far the whole thing tips out!! 😂

I sometimes buy the larger packets of spices in the World foods section of the supermarket as it works out cheaper and just top up the wee jars.  It depends on how often you use a spice to work out if it's worth buying a larger amount.  It doesn't save money if you end up throwing it out as it's lost flavour cos you've had it for years! 

And here's the lasagne fresh out the oven ready for eating!