Quinoa, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

When I saw Holly's blog post yesterday, I knew I needed to try her chili recipe.  The combination of black beans, sweet potatoes and quinoa sounded great, and it totally lived up to my expectations.

I followed a recipe on Allrecipes.com for the chili seasoning.  As long as you've got the necessary 9 ingredients in your cupboard, I think it's preferable to make your own seasoning so you can adjust it as desired.  For example, I completely omit the crushed red pepper and have Chris add it to his own bowl.

To top our chili for dinner tonight, we added plain Greek yogurt and chopped cilantro.  This was Chris' first time using plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and he was suprised at how similar they are.  It's also a great substitute when baking, for example when making snickerdoodle muffins.

No chili is complete without corn bread or corn muffins, so I made my favorite corn muffin recipe while the chili was cooking.

Quinoa, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients (6 servings)

Chili:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 8 cloves)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 15oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 3 cans (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Seasoning:

• 1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional Toppings:

• plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
• shredded cheddar cheese
• chopped fresh cilantro
• lime wedges
• chopped green onions
• sliced jalapeno peppers

Instructions

• In a stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cooking for 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, then add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, quinoa, water, lime juice and seasoning. Simmer for 40 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are cooked through), stirring occasionally.

Recipe sources: The Healthy Everythingtarian and Allrecipes

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