Recipes of the week: Special fried rice; chili con carne & Creole pumpkin soup

The HotHouse Kitchen focused on two more family favourites this week: fried rice and chili con carne.

The eldest has gone off fried rice, but I love it, so he had to suck it up. It’s so easy and yummy to make when you use ready steamed packets of rice.

As for the chili con carne, the kids prefer it on nachos. But I love it with rice, guacamole, grated cheese and sour cream.

And the pumpkin soup was a delicious experiment – I love the addition of lime and peanut butter to the mix.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos again in the feeding frenzy. The main pic is from Tin Eats – click here to try her recipe, which uses additional ingredients including oyster sauce and rice wine – I’m going to give it a whirl next time I’m in the mood for fried rice.

And the chili photo is from my Blackberry era, so it’s crappy! I will try and remember to take proper photos next week.

Special fried rice

1 tsp + 1 tbsp rice brain oil

2 eggs, lightly whisked

2 bacon rashers, chopped

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

1/2 cup frozen peas & corn

3 shallots, chopped

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsps soy sauce

250g peeled green prawns

2 x 450g pkts of steamed long grain white rice

1 tsp sesame oil

METHOD: Heat 1 tsp oil in deep frying pan or wok. Add eggs and cook until firm, then flip to ensure both sides are golden. Remove and chop. Heat rice according to packet directions. Add remaining oil and stir-fry bacon until golden. Add vegetables and ginger and cook for a minute or two until beginning to soften. Add prawns and stir fry. Add soy sauce. Add rice and toss thoroughly to separate grains. Add sesame oil. Toss. Serve.

Chili con carne

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1kg beef mince

40g of your favourite Mexican spices (when I’m being lazy I use Old El Paso Spice Mix for Burritos as it doesn’t contain sugar)

1-2 tsps of Chipotle chili paste or chipotles in adobo (sounds hard to get but both Woolies and IGA stock variations)

1/2 cup chicken stock

400g can crushed tomatoes

400g black beans, drained and rinsed

400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

Serve with rice, grated cheese, guacamole and sour cream

Method: Heat olive oil and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add mince and fry, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Mix through Mexican spices and saute for a minute. Add tomatoes, stock and beans and bring to a simmer. Simmer 30 mins. Serve with rice and condiments such as guacamole, cheese and sour cream.

Creole Pumpkin Soup

1 tbsp rice bran oil

1 onion, diced

1 stick of celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 small butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced

1 litre chicken stock

1 tsp nutmeg

Chilli to taste (I use sambal oelek from Harris Farm)

2 tbsps peanut butter

1/2 cup cream

1 tbsp lime juice

Salt to taste

Method: Heat rice bran oil and saute onion, celery, carrots and garlic until translucent. Add chicken stock, nutmeg and pumpkin and simmer until all vegetables are tender. Puree with a stick blender. Add chilli, peanut butter, cream and lime juice and bring to gentle simmer. Add salt to taste. Serve.