this is a great time saving way or making a Chilli Con Carne, Bolognese & Cottage Pie. the below is what you will need to make all 3 dishes for 2 adults and 2 kids.

so cook on a monday, you eat the cottage pie that evening. you can then freeze the chilli and bolognese to eat at a later date.

ingredients;
900g mince beef
5 large onions, chopped/diced finely (you can use a food processor for this!)
just over 1 pint of beef stock
4 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 small green pepper chopped
1 small red pepper chopped
4 carrots chopped finely
150g tin of red kidney beans (drained and washed)
chilli powder spice mix.
6 basil leaves
8-10 large potatoes for the mash on the cottage pie.
butter, oil, salt and pepper to hand
150g chedder cheese

method;
have 3 oven proof deep dishes all lined up, and your oven on gas mark 4.
cook your onion in a frying pan in a little oil on a low heat. cook these until they are cooked through but remember to keep on a low heat as you dont want them to be brown more transparent in appearance.
once your onion is cooked, transfer equally to the 3 dishes.
now take your mince beef, put 500g of the meat in the dish which will be for the cottage pie
then put 250g into the dish which will be for the bolognese and 150g for the chilli. you don’t need to cook this it will cook out in the oven!
place all 3 dishes in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until the meat is browned. use the back fo a fork to break the mince down and mix well with the onion. next you make up the dishes…

cottage pie dish… add beef stock so the beef/onion mixture is covered and then add the chopped carrots. season with salt and pepper
chilli dish… add the kidney beans, green and red peppers, 2 tins of tomatoes, the chilli spice mix, and then add about 300ml of beef stock. Add a glass of red wine if you know your kids will eat a richer dish. season with salt and pepper
bolognese… add the remainder 2 tins of tomatoes, about 200ml of beef stock and the basil leaves (torn so they are in smaller pieces). Add a glass of red wine if you know your kids will eat a richer dish. season with salt and pepper

the place them all back in the oven to cook for at least 2 hours (you will add the mash to the cottage pie dish after 1hour and 30 minutes). After 2 hours, take out the chilli and bolognese and leave to cool. Turn up the oven to gas mark 7 and add the cheese to the cottage pie then cook out till crispy.

please note you may need to cover all 3 dishes in the oven with tin foil to avoid the mixture crisping on the top. Stir them regularly to make sure you get an even cooking.

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