Chili Days Are Here Again

 

My favorite part of Facebook is the memories part where they present things that you posted or saved from years ago. I love scrolling back and remembering all the adventures we have had that I posted for friends to see over the years. It also helps to remind me when I saved a recipe that sounded good at the time - sometimes, they are no longer appealing but this time I hit the jackpot.

My friend Angela had posted this recipe for a vegetarian chili from What's Gaby Cooking, saying that her children loved it. I'm always looking for good vegetarian recipes as we try and try again to reduce our meat consumption. We will never make it to full-on vegetarian, and that's okay, but it's still good to change things up.

So, what's not to like about Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili?  There's a video of this preparation if you want to do a search for it under that name, but it's pretty simple so you likely won't need it. I made some changes to Gaby's recipe based on what I had at home. It makes a pot of chili large enough for four adult meals, but not such a huge pot that you are eating it for days on end. In my book, that's a win.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili, from What's Gaby Cooking?

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 red onion, chopped

1Tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt to taste

1 cup vegetable stock (or I used chicken stock because I had it on hand)

1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (or I used a small box of crushed tomatoes, again, what I had on hand)

1 can black beans, drained

1 lime, rolled, cut and squeezed

Toppings: your choice - chopped avocado, cream, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, and we usually like to eat a few tortilla chips with chili for more texture and crunch. You can also add hot sauce if you like more spiciness.

Instructions:

In a large, heavy pot add the olive oil and heat. Add the sweet potato and onion, and stir. When the onion starts to smell good, add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and salt to taste and stir them all together. 

Add the stock, tomatoes, and black beans, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the sweet potato is tender and the sauce is as thick as you like it, about 20 minutes, give or take.

Ladle into bowls and top with your favorite toppings.