Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili

This past weekend, the weather forecast called for some serious snow fall in St. Louis.  We're talking 6-7 inches of this stuff.  Snowy days always give me a hankering to make something delicious.  Knowing that the chances of bundling up and venturing out on Sunday were pretty slim, I figured there's no better way to spend a Sunday stuck at home than in the kitchen.  I was inspired by this Jalapeno Popper Turkey Chili and put a spin on it to make a vegetarian version: Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili.  Comfort, creamy, healthy and delicious, this pot of Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili was the perfect cold weather recipe.  Not to mention, the next day leftovers were even better.

Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients

2 tbsp EVVO
1 med. red onion, diced
1 can chopped green chiles
4 sweet potatoes, cubed
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, chili powder, and cumin (add more to taste)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa (I used hot)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Block of low-fat cream cheese, cubed
Shredded Mexican-style cheese
Sour cream and tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1.  In a large pot, combine EVVO, onion, sweet potato, green chiles, and garlic; cover and cook on med-high heat until sweet potato is tender, stirring occasionally.
2.  Add cayenne pepper, chili powder, and cumin.  Mix well.
3.  Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, broth, salsa, and cilantro.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4.  Add cream cheese and stir well to melt and mix.
5.  Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

See the original recipe here:  Jalapeno Popper Turkey Chili

{whatever wednesday}

{Halloween Things:  How to Create a Candy Bar}

I was lucky enough to win Game 1 Playoff tickets through an Instagram contest, thanks to Strange Donuts.  Clearly, I had to go through a ton of donut eating trouble to get those tickets.  With my dad as my date, we rooted on the Cardinals, drank beers, sat in the cold, wandered to the bar, joked around, laughed a lot.  He wanted to leave after the 7th inning (rightfully so, since we were losing), but I may have guilt tripped with the whole, "How often do you get to enjoy a Playoff game with your favorite daughter?!" thing...His response was, "Never." ((sorry, Melissa))  We stayed until the end and although we lost the game, it was great to spend one on one time with Dad.

 {This Quinoa Chili from Last Night}
We've been having a stormy, gross, gloomy week in St. Louis and yesterday, I had had enough.  Craving something hearty to fill the sadness, I decided to give my cooking skills a shot at some Quinoa Chili.  I followed the recipe above, altering the spices a bit, using chili tomatoes.  Also, I think the recipe called for a bit too much onion, half or a third would have done well.  Despite the overly-onion oops, I made enough chili to feed a small village and the craving hit the spot.

{Wednesday Wisdom}

{Song of the Week:  Jason Mraz - Living in the Moment}

Soup Season

Evidently, the average woman's favorite thing about fall is pumpkin everything.  MY favorite thing about fall: SOUP SEASON.  Soup, chili, stew...I seriously love soup form foods.  I even eat soup the summer, because I can (and I love it that much).  Here are some bowl and spoon requirement, cold weather recipes that I'm excited to get all chef-mode with this fall and winter:

{5-Ingredient Easy White Chicken Chili}

{Roasted Jalapeno Soup}

{Skinny Tomato Soup with Cheesy Orzo}

{Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup}

{Pretty. Easy. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili}

{Quinoa Chili}