Chilli Con Carne Veggie Stew

[mific]

Another of my "take a recipe and throw in a bunch of extra veggies i.e. whatever's in the fridge" jobs! This was a rice-cooker full, so made about 5-6 meal portions. I used a large purple-red kumara which tastes fine but looks weird and tints food purple, so this was a good way to use it up.

Ingredients:
1 kg (~2.2 lbs) beef mince (ground beef), thawed and browned in oil in a pan
2 cans red kidney beans (or any beans really)
2 cans chopped tomatoes
½ cup chopped jalapeno peppers, OR 1-2 chopped fresh whole cayenne peppers (1 was mildly hot, 2 was hotter but not too spicy. You can tell I currently have a bunch of fresh cayenne peppers to use up!)
4 tsp crushed garlic
1 pottle tomato paste (2 Tbsp)
1/2 cup brown rice (or sub with an extra kumara/sweet potato/potatoes)
2 cups other veggies as available (chopped mushrooms, onions, carrots, chard, kale, etc)
1 large kumara (sweet potato), cubed
1 cup frozen peas
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 tsp mushroom or beef Better than Bouillon stock concentrate (or any stock concentrate or cubes, pref beef)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
2 bay leaves
10-20 grinds black pepper
3-4 cups water
1 tsp MSG (optional)

at the end:
salt to taste as needed
extra sriracha sauce if needed for hotness (I used up a few accumulated hot sauce sachets)

Directions:
Thaw the mince if needed.

Chop the veggies, and add with the beans to a large pot, Dutch oven, rice cooker, etc. Add the spices, herbs, seasonings. Top up with water to 1 inch under the top of the ingredients. Start it simmering/cooking.

Brown the mince. Once browned, add it to the pot and stir in.
Simmer for 1.5-2 hours. In a rice cooker, simmering, it took me 2 hrs to get it to a good, thick consistency - might have added a bit too much water.

At the end, mash it a bit to thicken the stew, taste, and adjust the salt and chilli. Serve.