Lazy Sweet Potato Chili

As I write this it is 74 degrees outside and sunny...definitely not typical chili weather. Nonetheless chili is what I made today.

This particular recipe is a staple in my diet. It's spicy and delicious and cooks in a slow cooker. I used this recipe as a template, but deviate from it slightly. I don't use carrots and I don't measure out my seasoning, which is probably why mine tastes different every time. 

What's particularly great about this recipe is you can get pretty lazy with it. I buy pre-chopped onion (because, really, who enjoys chopping onions), pre-peeled garlic and dice it in my electronic chopper (if you don't have one, get one. These little contraptions are life changing. This one is only $14 at Walmart), and a package of chili powder. Careful when you buying packaged seasoning though. A lot of times there is added sugar. 

I imagine this would be a great family dinner. Being the single college student that I am I just eat it every meal for about 4 days so I don't have to cook again for awhile. 

So here's what you need:

• 2.5 lbs of ground beef
• 3 large sweet potatoes
• A handful of garlic cloves (4-6) minced
• One red onion chopped (or a 16 oz container of pre-chopped red onion from the grocery story)
• 2 cups (ish) of beef stock
• 1 large 30-40oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (or one package) of chili powder
• 2 bay leaves
• Some thyme (here is where my cooking becomes less than precise) 
• Some Red Pepper
• Some Cumin
• Some Cayenne Pepper

Your going to brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the minced garlic and the chopped onion. While that's on the stove, peel your sweet potatoes and chop them in to 1(ish) inch cubes. Dump the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker or crock pot with the beef stock, tomato sauce, and petite tomatoes. Once the beef is nice and brown dump that in too. Now just add all the spices and the bay leaves, put the lid on, turn the slow cooker on low, and find something to do for 8 hours while you wait for this magical meal. 

(If you can appreciate an awkward British comedy, I suggest killing a couple of those hours with I Give it a Year, and if you're not, I suggest watching it anyway. It's on Netflix and the trailer is below. Enjoy!)

UPDATE: It could take more or less 8 hours in the crockpot. Last time I cooked this it tasted perfect at 8 hours. This time it looks pretty close to perfect at 6, so keep an eye on it.