Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili

On a cold day there is nothing better than a warm bowl of something steaming and a side of bread. One of our family's favorites is chili and cornbread. This version incorporates one of my favorite vegetables...the sweet potato! They make a great meat substitution in many recipes, plus they taste good.

This recipe is super simple and can either be done on the stovetop or in the crockpot. I will include the crockpot variation as well.

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Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili

Prep time: 5 minutes  Cooking Time: 30 minutes (stove top) or 4 hrs (crockpot)
Servings: 6

Notes: Sometimes when I make this on the stovetop the chili gets rather thick, so I will sometimes think it out with vegetable stock about 10 minutes before its done cooking. Sometimes the reverse happens with I cook this in the crockpot and I will have to thicken it. When this happens I add a slurry of 1 TB flour to 2TB water 30 minutes before its done cooking and that usually does the trick. This recipe also freezes really well. We can usually get two meals out of this one recipes.

1 TB olive oil (stovetop only)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large sweet potato, diced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced (depending on your preference)

1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15oz can chopped tomatoes, do not drain

1 1/2 TB chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black peppers

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1 TB honey

1 cup frozen corn

sour cream and shredded cheese for serving

Stovetop Directions:

- In a large pot (I use my 6 Q enameled cast iron dutch oven) over medium high heat, sauté onions and sweet potatoes in olive oil until onions are cooked and translucent. Then add garlic and cooked for another two minutes.

- Add crushed tomatoes, black beans, red kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring this mixture to a slow boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.

- Let chili cook for 20-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender.

- Add honey and corn and continue to cook for an additional minute.

-Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more chili powder for more heat or paprika for more smokiness.

- Serve hot with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Slow-cooker Directions:

- Put all ingredients in slow-cooker, except corn and honey. Set the slow-cooker to high and cook for four hours. With ten minutes left in the cooking time, add the honey and corn and finish cooking.