Beefy Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

That is a very long name for something so ordinary as chili, but I wanted to stress the sweet potato part. Sweet potatoes aren't exactly my favorite vegetable. I dislike them in most things actually. I don't make any sweet potato dish at thanksgiving and the idea of putting marshmallows on them just sounds odd. But this vegetable is a great source of vitamins so its a part of my diet. Thankfully this delicious chili containing the unwelcome vegetable came into my kitchen, turning my taste buds around. It was that good. Even my five year old asked for seconds!

The recipe was based on Stella's recipe. I tweaked it in a couple ways including eliminating half of the sugar because well I don't like cooking with unnecessary sugar. 

Beefy Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green pepper chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 Tbs white sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbs all purpose flour
2 cans (14-15 oz) black beans
2 cans (14-15oz) fire roasted tomatoes diced (my favorite)
2 cups of chicken broth homemade or store bought
Shredded cheese (optional)
Sliced avocado (optional)
thinly sliced green onion (optional)
sour cream (optional)
__________ insert your favorite chili topping

Directions

1. In a large pot or dutch oven heat the oil over medium. Saute the garlic, onion, green pepper and sweet potatoes for 7 minutes. 

2. Add in the all the seasonings, flour, and tomato paste. Cook for another minute. (I had to cook mine for about 3-4 minutes since I was using frozen tomato paste). 

3. Cook the meat in a seperate skillet. Should take less than 5-6 minutes.

4. While the meat is cooking add everything else to the chili pot. Then bring it to a boil. When the meat is done add that to the chili pot as well. 

5. Lower the heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

6. Eat :) 

From my Az kitchen to yours