Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

I have a love hate relationship with moving. I love the fact that moving causes me to organize my life, get rid of clutter, and thoroughly clean everything. But that's the small part. The larger reality is that I have been living in a tiny studio crammed with boxes of stuff that just doesn't have a place in our new space. To add to the craziness, it's taken much longer than expected to unpack my kitchen and actually feel like it's ready to be cooked in. Monday night however, I finally cooked a proper meal for Jason and myself. Poor guy has been eating out three meals a day!

photo by Leah Bergman for Freutcake

I thought we could use something homey and light so I made a pot of Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili with a big salad on the side. This chili is healthy, fresh, spicy and incredibly delicious when topped with avocado and sour cream. It feels good to start getting back into the rhythm of things! Next up...baking.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili- adapted from Eating Well

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
½ large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
¼-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (spice to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 4-ounce can green chilies
juice of one lime½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

garnish
fat-free sour cream
sliced avocado

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
3. Top with a dollop of fat-free sour cream and a sliced avocado.