Rae lives and farms on Barr Farms with her family. She loves cooking healthy food, trying new things, deep conversations with friends, reading, learning, and playing, especially with her three children.
Sweet Potato-Beef Chili*
I'm guesstimating amounts here, so use your judgement and preferences!
1-3 red onions, chopped
a couple tablespoons olive oil
1-2 lbs ground beef
Chili spices: chili powder, powdered garlic, a little cumin, a little allspice (I actually used a combo of regular chili powder, ancho chili powder and ancho chili powder.) (A few tablespoons chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of garlic powder and a half teaspoon allspice, as a guess?
2-3 fresh garlic cloves
2-3 cups canned tomatoes (combo of crushed, diced, stewed and paste. Ideally you could use tomatoes you canned yourself from the summer CSA , but I didn't do that, I just used store bought canned tomatoes)
1-3 cups Beef stock, depending on how thick or thin you like your chili (ideally make this yourself from beef soup bones.)
1-3 cups peeled sweet potatoes, chopped into bite-sized cubes.
Sautee the onions in the olive oil until very soft, almost starting to brown. Add the ground beef, and pound with a meat tenderizer to break up the fibers. Cook until browned. Add the spices, and mix all together to incorporate the spices throughout the meat.. Add the fresh garlic. Add the tomatoes and beef stock, mix well and heat until simmering. Add the sweet potatoes at the end, and only cook until just soft. (Overcooking the sweet potatoes will make them mushy and not as delicious). Salt to taste. Serve with sorghum cornbread, and top bowls with shredded cheese, saltine crackers and sour cream.
*Note you can make the vegan or vegetarian by substituting the ground beef with a couple different types of beans, like red kidney or pinto, and subbing the beef stock for veggie stock. Just add a some more olive oil in the beginning to carry the flavor of the spices.