mmm mmm good!

My new favorite addition to any dish is the sweet potato. I used to hate sweet potatoes. Growing up my only exposure to them was Thanksgiving where they were smothered with marshmallows and I wanted nothing to do with them. Now I pretty much love them in anything...especially  in Brad's infamous Indian-ish vegetable coconut milk concoction. YUM. Anyway, I digress. Brad made this chunky vegetarian chili a few weeks back and I didn't get too excited about it because I have made many a veggie chili recipes before and they weren't much to rave about. But this one was different. Very different - so much so that when I took leftovers to work the next day, a coworker who was walking behind me as I was carrying my bowl back to my desk exclaimed "what is that Sarah?! It smells amazing!". Super delicious and flavorful and the perfect comfort dish to indulge in at the end of a long day when it's snowy and cold outside. I'm not quite sure what makes this recipe so much better than any other veggie chili recipe I've tried, but I think it might have something to do with the sweet potato.

  

chunky veggie chili with sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups Vidalia onion or other large, sweet yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
¾ cup red bell pepper chopped
½ cup green bell pepper(s) chopped
1 cup celery chopped
2 C water or chicken stock
15 ounces black beans canned, rinsed and drained
15 ounces great northern beans canned, rinsed and drained
1½ tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Unit bay leaf
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup zucchini chopped chunky
1 sweet potato, chopped

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add onion, garlic, bell peppers, and celery.
Sauté 5 minutes or until tender and transfer to slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients and cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 5-7 hours.
Serve over white or brown rice

recipe adapted from crock-pot.com