Inspire me for a pot of something to feed 4 adults and 3 kids for lunch...

[RememberToPlaywiththeKids]

I want something lovely that takes as much work as a spag bol that isn't lasagne or a roast chicken!

actually i'm happy for it to take longer to make if i can do it the night/day/2 days before!!

Nigella has a lovely one-pot recipe for chili-con-carne topped with cornbread. It's great because it literally is one pot, nothing else. And you can serve it with nice things like guacamole and sour cream and chips that take no work at all and can all be prepared in advance.

Otherwise how about a nice classic like shepherd's pie or a fish pie?

This is the chilli recipe www.nigella.com/recipes/view/cornbread-topped-chilli-con-carne-126

You don't need to worry about buttermilk if you can't find it - skimmed milk with a squeeze of lemon juice is a perfectly good substitute.

You can make the chilli as far in advance as you want (even freeze it) and just do the cornbread topping before you put it in the oven. The topping is a doddle - you literally just mix the ingredients together and pour over the chilli, then whack the whole lot in the oven for half an hour.

that does look lovely. how spicy is it? the kids are only 3 and 4 - i should have said in the OP.

I will def be trying that!

where do i buy cornmeal from??

If you make it with the full amount of chilli (two tsp for 1.5kg meat) then I would say it's medium hot - probably too spicy for my four year old (though he is a bit of a wimp compared to his younger brother).

I make it without any chilli flakes at all, and then add chopped jalapeno peppers or tabasco sauce to mine and DH's portion. Without the chilli it's not hot at all, just mildly aromatic because of the cardamoms etc.

1.5kg meat is a lot though - that serves about 10-15 people. I'd make half quantities (or freeze half).

I can buy cornmeal from my Sainsbury's - it's in their "world foods" section with Caribbean and West Indies ingredients. Whereabouts are you? It shouldn't be hard to find. Worth knowing that polenta is basically the same as cornmeal - it's the same ingredient, just ground a little coarser so you could substitute it.

brilliant thank you. do you think polenta would work or be a bit wierd?? i may or may not be able to get to a supermarket before the even and ocado doesn't have cornmeal. they do have buttermilk though! i could make a small unspiced one for the kids so that would work well. how deep should i pour the cornbread mix (as i'm doing it in a couple of pots)?

I swap them to be honest - I mean I use cornmeal for everything, even when it calls for polenta. And I've seen some recipes saying they've done it the other way around (used polenta to make cornbread) and it just ended up a bit crunchier.

So I should think it would be fine - the only thing is to make sure of what you're ordering from ocado - you want medium ground polenta NOT the premixed kind that's already been made up with water!

How deep - it doesn't really matter too much. it's a bit like the mash topping on shepherd's pie, it's just however much you need to cover it, and not have mince showing through.

It depends how deep your mince is, but I'd say if you've got (say) two inches of mince, go for an inch of topping, and bear in mind it will rise a fair bit. But don't stress too much.

thanks for this! is this stuff ok??

looks fine - I think it is exactly the same as cornmeal, just coarser. You could always blitz it in a food processor for a sec if you want - but I reckon you will be just fine.

I make cornbread using polenta. It's totally fine.

brilliant - thank you both

incidently - can you freeze cornbread batter ??

Hmmmm... I've never tried, but my instinct is you probably can't - I think it would interfere with the rising agent and it would probably end up rather soggy and flat when you came to cook it.

The batter only takes literally 10 mins though - and if you are really wanting to save time then you could measure out the "wet" and "dry" bowls beforehand and just keep the wet bowl in the fridge, then mix together right before you are ready to cook.

You can freeze the cooked dish but it's not as good reheated - it goes a bit stodgy. Kind of the point of the dish is the crunchy fluffy topping, and freezing detracts from that. I've done it just as family leftovers but I wouldn't do it for guests.

The chilli on the other hand just gets better the further in advance you make it - that will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days beforehand (easier than the freezer since you don't have to defrost it).

If you are making a big dish then do follow Nigella's tip to reheat the chilli before putting it in the oven, otherwise the cornbread topping cooks before the chilli is properly bubbling.

the chilli is simmering as I type!! I'll pull off a portion for tea tonight and freeze the rest.

Any other recipes up your sleeve for yummy one potters??

Yum, the nigella version is the only chilli I make now, it is delicious, especially when I can be bothered to do the topping. I do the same and don't add any chilli so the children like it.

This courgette lasagne is very quick and one of our favourites. Bit different to usual lasagne.

Also this beef cobbler by martian bishop is delish.

Those both look lovely - thank you! :)

did it work? [nosey]