Sweet Potato Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

This recipe is adapted from the recipe Sweet Potato Chili Bake, found on my friend, Whitney's, blog. The original recipe is from the Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

Chili:

• 2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cornmeal Dumplings (from Better Homes and Gardens):

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• dash of black pepper
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 Tbs milk
• 2 Tbs cooking oil

Directions:

• In a large stew pot, saute sweet potato and red pepper in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, broth, beans, brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Meanwhile, prepare cornmeal dumpling batter. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, cheese, cornmeal, baking powder, and pepper. In a small bowl combine the egg, milk, and cooking oil; add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until combined.
• Drop cornmeal dumpling batter into simmering chili (about 6-8 dumplings). Cover for 10-12 minutes, and do not open until the time is up. Dumplings are done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Serve with optional toppings, if desired.
  

If you want to do it the according to the original recipe, cook your chili in an oven-proof Dutch oven. Prepare 1 package (6-1/2 ounces) corn bread/muffin mix according to the package and stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional). Drop by tablespoons over chili. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I like to cube my sweet potatoes pretty small, but that's just my preference.
2. I didn't have vegetable broth, so I opted for chicken broth this time. It turned out fine, but would be more veggie friendly with the vegetable broth.
3. I didn't plan ahead enough for my dried black beans to be used, so I used a can of red beans instead. Tasted great. I have a feeling you could use any kind of your favorite beans and it would still be yummy.
4. Whitney notes that she didn't have chili powder, so instead she used 1 1/2 tsp of ground red pepper. She said it was good but spicy.