Sweet Potato Chili

As the cold weather creeps upon us, I find myself seeking warmth in anyway possible. This includes thick, fuzzy coats, heating blankets, steamy showers, and, of course, soups and chilis. This chili is one of my favorites, and was found in a vegetarian slow cooker cookbook that my grandma gave me for Chrtistmas one year (Ironically, she put the book in a crockpot box and made me think I was getting a brand new crockpot. Funny, grams).

Mmm, look how bright it is!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs sweet potato (about 2 potatos)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 tsp minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Peel and cut your potatoes into smallish cubes (about 1 inch). Set these aside. Drizzle a pan with the oil, and sautee the onion and pepper until the onion is translucent. Add in the garlic and chili powder, stir until the garlic is browned. Add the sweet potato, and stir to coat with spices. Pour the mixture into a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients except for the chipotle peppers. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Now, a note on the chipotle peppers; these can be found in the mexican foods section of most grocery stores. They usually come whole in a small can with adobo sauce. A little goes a long way with these things, they are HOT. What I do is buy a can, mince all the peppers up, put them back in the can (preserving as much of the sauce as you can), use what I need, and freeze them. These things freeze great and they're excellent for spicing up any dish. If you don't really want to freeze them, make some chipotle mayo with the leftovers.

When you're ready to eat your chili, stir in the peppers and serve with cheese, sour cream, or just crackers.