Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili!

It's starting to get a little cooler in the city these days and apparently we're expecting SNOW tomorrow! It's not even November yet! Anyhow, one of the best parts of a cool evening is a piping hot bowl of soup, better yet when it's been cooking all day in the crockpot! I love coming home to house smelling wonderful and just having to dish it up and enjoy!

I first saw this recipe over on Erin and Ben's cooking blog, We Got Fed. I had been debating between this chili and the veggie chili over on Ezra Pound Cake, but because of the ingredients we had and the appeal of using the crock, this won out!
If you chop all the ingredients the night before and just dump them in in the morning, it's super easy!

Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili
Based on the recipe from We Got Fed

1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, 1 red. 1 green. Finely chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn kernals
2 tomatoes, diced
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cups water (We cooked our chili for like 11 hours, so I added more water, if you're only cooking it for 6-8 you can probably add less)
1 - 1.5 tsp chili powder
1 -1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 heaping tsp oregano
dash of parsley
dash of salt
Optional for garnish: Avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro

Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low until you return! (At least 6-8 hours, up to however long you'll be gone!)

We served this over rice with some cornbread muffins, avocado and sour cream. YUM!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos!

So we've been experimenting with various taco recipes lately, most notably the delicious Lentil Tacos over at A Couple Cooks.

In search of something veggie to make for dinner last night, I came across this recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos on Joy the Baker and was intrigued. It looked pretty simple and we had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to give it a go.

YUM! I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but they were awesome! And insanely healthy to boot. Excellent. The lime flavor really made the dish, and I didn't realize how many limes were required, it cleaned out my drawer! So make sure you have lots on hand!

I altered the recipe slightly from the original as I can't eat raw onions without getting a stomach ache, but otherwise, followed it for the most part.



Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
2 normal size sweet potatoes (or one ginormous one like we had), chopped into small cubes
olive oil
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 carrot
1 small head of red cabbage
a few TBS of chopped cilantro
4 limes
salt and crushed red pepper flakes
ground cumin
small flour tortillas

Preheat your oven to about 400 degrees. Start with the potatoes, diced into small cubes. Toss in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of salt, and a few good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes (probably about 1/2 - 1 tsp?), and the juice of one lime. Once coated, turn the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until fork tender and slightly browned. Take out and toss about half way through.

Once you get the potatoes started, chop up the cabbage and add to a bowl (the same one you mixed the potatoes in is great). Grate the carrot and add to bowl along with a few TBS of chopped fresh cilantro and salt/red pepper flakes to taste. Toss with the juice of 2 limes and set aside.

Finally, add your chopped onion and garlic to a skillet with a bit of olive oil. Saute until the onions have softened. Add the beans, juice of half or a whole lime (we had half, so that's all I added), and 1 tsp of ground cumin and a bit of salt. Cook another couple minutes over medium heat until warmed through.

Once your potatoes are done, top up your taco with beans, sweet potatoes, and the cabbage slaw with a bit more cilantro and you're good to go!

YUM!