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We’re just home from a basketball game and other than having to be get my kids to the court at 7:45 am, it was a fun game to watch and to cheer our team on to victory.  {Ok, they don’t keep score}.  The corn muffins just came out of the oven and I’m enjoying a second cup of French Roast coffee.  There’s a chill in the air so it feels little more like Christmas-time to me.

Since it’s still pretty early in the day, I thought you might have time to get something into your slow cooker, like this vegetarian chili with sweet potatoes.  Yesterday, I found an old issue of Real Simple magazine (January 2011) and then headed straight to my pantry.  I had everything I needed (love that) and put it into my slow cooker, which by the way is the ugliest piece of equipment in our kitchen.  It’s probably circa 1990, with a grapevine design running around the outside with a forest green insert.  It’s so unattractive that you will notice that it is not in a single photo for today’s post.  {you can thank me later}. And yes, I keep it out of site when it’s not in use.

You’ll need to chop 1 medium red onion and 1 green bell pepper.  And, mince 4 garlic cloves.  Of course this recipe is very forgiving so if you have a yellow onion in your pantry use that.

1 (15.5 ounce) can each of kidney beans and black beans.  Rinse them well.  I chose the pink kidney beans for the contrast in color between them and the black beans.  Again, use whatever you have on hand from your pantry.

The chopped sweet potato really makes this recipe and the color stays that beautiful, vibrant orange even after 5 hours in your slow cooker.

I loved this recipe for it’s ease in putting together and the finished chili.  If you prefer, you could add beef or pork to it (including leftovers from your frig) for the carnivore in your household.    Or just visit this post for a delicious black bean chili (sausage and beef with black beans) I posted recently.  You can take a look at the original post from Real Simple Magazine here.

 

 

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Method

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup water.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the hili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Serves: 4

Have a wonderful Saturday,