This Mexican recipe came about a little bit my mistake. I simply wanted to make Mexican Tortilla Stacks and the next thing I knew I had so much filling I had to think of other things to do with it as well. Luckily my family loves Mexican food so tacos and nachos seemed like the obvious choices. You could also use this filling in Quesadillas or Burritos instead of the Chilli Con Carne filling. You could even put it on top of a baked potato or sweet potato. It’s that versatile the list of uses is endless. If you need to bulk it out for more servings, you could add more vegetables, beans or mince (or even green lentils).

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Serves: 12 (so I use it in 3 dinners)

Ingredients

• 400 g beef mince
• 2 x 420 g tins of diced tomatoes
• 3 tbs tomato paste
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 1 capsicum diced
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 2 x 420 g tins of red kidney beans
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Approx 1 – 1.5 litres water
• salt and pepper
• oil, for frying

Method

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan and cook the mince and onions until the mince has browned and the onions have softened.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, mix to combine and let simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 – 35 minutes until the lentils have softened/become mushy and the liquid has reduced. If during cooking the mixture becomes too dry, you can add extra water.
3. Taste and add more spices if desired.