Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Eating delicious, low-calorie, low-fat home cooked meals sounds like such a delightful idea, but I find the practicality of it is severely lacking. After working with elementary school children all day long, I have very little energy to come home and cook. I know, I know. Right now you might be thinking, "Just plan ahead, Lesley." And I know you are wrong. Those of you out there who can do it all and still have energy, I think you are wonderful. That is so not me.

My mom told me to freeze meals. It seemed like quite the quest at first, but I realized I can make them on the weekends or weeknights when I actually have a bit of me left to give. Also, when there are only two mouths to feed the in the house, one meal can last for a few days. Therefore, I have less meals to make initially!

January always seems such a great time for chili. I stumbled across a vegetarian chili recipe in the latest issue of Eating Well Magazine. Normally, we are ones to go for meat chili, but this has plenty of protein, and we didn't miss the meat at all! It freezes really well, and goes great with cornbread. Matt and I chose to adapt the recipe, so here is our own version:

1 T plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
1 T cinnamon (We added this to the original recipe)
1 T nutmeg (Again, our addition)
2 T cocoa powder (Our addition to add a bit of a mole flavor)
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water (Plus a bit extra to balance out the cocoa powder
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
4 tsp lime juice
A bit of sharp cheddar to top :)

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 of soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and all other spices, and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add water 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.

3. To freeze, allow to cool to room temperature over a couple of hours. If possible, vacuum seal. Freezes well for up to three months.