Also, it’s been really strange/sad around our house the past few days because one of my my little sisters left bright and early Monday morning for a big adventure trip that’s been in the planning for weeks. She’s going to be camping down in the Southern part of Chile with some close friends of our family for the next week and a half. It sounds like she’s having the time of her life so far and that makes me happy. I still miss her like crazy though. My Dad is having a melt down over it though. First time she has been away from home.

Okay, but now I need to talk about these sweet potatoes. I know you can stuff sweet potatoes with so many things but chili is like the perfect match. This is a really simple chili that I made for dinner over the weekend and the truth is that these potatoes were inspired by me wanting to use the leftovers.

These make such a great weeknight dinner to have ready to go too. They’re so filling and always a crowd pleaser. You can pile it with so many delicious topping too. I left it at salsa, sour cream, and avocado slices for ours but feel free to throw on some cheese, diced onion, hot sauce, or even some crunchy chip crumbs. Go wild and make them your own! I’d love to know what you think in the comments as well so let me know. What are you going to top yours with?

RECIPE

Yield: 4 - 6

Ingredients

6 medium sweet potatoes, baked until fork tender

Chili:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water, plus a little more as needed
3 tablespoons worchestershire
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2 1/2 - 3 cups cooked beans, rinsed (I used a combination of lentils, kidney beans, black beans, and white beans)
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed

Optional Toppings:
salsa
sliced avocado or guacamole
chives or green onions
sour cream

Instructions

Chili:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, water, and beans to pot and reduce heat to medium low. Add remaining ingredients for chili and stir very well, then reduce heat to low and allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes to develop flavor and thicken up.

Stuffed Potatoes:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and line a baking tray with foil.
2. Slit your sweet potatoes down the center lengthwise and use a fork to mash them a little and make a place to pour the chili. Set them on the prepared tray and scoop large spoonfuls of chili into each potato. Place tray in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until tops are browned and potatoes are nice and hot. Remove from oven and cool for a few then serve while they're hot with whatever toppings you'd like.

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

AND A HUGE MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO@rigaronib for designing my logo!!!! 

   

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