Chilli with added veg

I've never been much of a recipe-user, preferring to have a go at most dishes using my own taste buds and a smidgen of common sense ... yes, there have been a few minor disasters along the way, but mostly its been a triumphant journey of discovery.

Chilli con carne is no exception to this; like most people, I guess, I just throw in the basics, add a few flourishes of my own and hope for the best!  Sometimes I stick to the main ingredients (onion, garlic, lean minced beef, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, seasoning, beef stock, chilli flakes and kidney beans) but on other occasions I like to add a few "extras".  Last night, I decided to chuck in some extra vegetables that were lurking in my fridge (mushrooms, red peppers and some leftover baked beans), a few flavouring tweaks (Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce, paprika and dried mint) and piled the delicious mixture on top of a jacket potato.

A dressed side salad added some freshness and a balance of flavours ... oh yeah, and we do like a couple of side dishes with our chilli: grated cheese and soured cream.  Phwooaarrr !!

V  Very easy to make this a vegetarian meal: simply make a non-meat chilli.  Either use one of the meat-free mince varieties (Quorn, soya, etc) or create a scrumptious vegetable chilli (this would be my preference) using all your favourite veggies.  Mine would probably include onions, peppers, mushrooms, butternut squash, carrots and courgettes (zucchini), all chopped fairly small (except the mushrooms and squash) and sauteed with garlic and seasoning, before adding the flavourings, tomatoes, etc.  Gorgeous!!