We always had chili the night of Halloween when I was a kid. Thinking back, I don't think it was a spoken tradition, but we did it every year. My mom made a good choice to fill us up with a warm and hearty meal because we would refuse to wear jackets over our costumes on the frigid October night. Kevin and I have stuck with that tradition and I wanted to share one of our favorite chili and cornbread recipes with you to eat this Halloween or anytime this winter!

The chili can be made in the crockpot or all at once. And the cornbread can be made into muffins or squares!

Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean ground turkey

• 1 red onion diced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 29 oz can low sodium tomato sauce

• 1 15 oz can low sodium petite diced tomatoes

• 2 15 oz can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1-2 cups low sodium chicken broth

• 1 cup carrots, sliced

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 1 TBSP thyme

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 cup chili powder

• 1-2 TBSP adobo chilis in sauce, dice the chilis (do less if you don't like spice)

• 1 TBSP oregano

How To

1. In a large saucepan, brown ground turkey, onion, and garlic. Drain off extra fat.

2. Meanwhile, combine tomato sauce, petite tomatoes, kidney beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, thyme, salt, pepper, chili powder, adobo chilis, and oregano in the crockpot.

3. When meat is cooked through, add to crockpot. Stir all ingredients together and add chicken broth accordingly. Start with 1 cup and add more if you want more liquid.

4. Set crockpot for low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

5. If you are not using a crockpot, follow the same directions, except cook in a large saucepan. Once ingredients are combined, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30-40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft.

Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 TBSP baking powder

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 1 egg

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup butter

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl of mixer.

2. Add cornmeal and mix.

3. Add egg, milk, butter and mix until combined (no more that 1 minutes)

4. Grease 9 muffin tin slots and fill each evenly with batter.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned and toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

6. Can also make cornbread squares by using a 8x8 pan and baking for 20-25 minutes.

7. Serve with honey butter

*Cornbread recipe from Bob's Red Mill cornmeal package. 

Serve with salad, steamed broccoli or sautéed green beans to make a complete and nutritious meal!