Tonight we returned to the old standby, Great Bowls of Fire. Lisa made this spicy curry that features chicken, sweet potatoes, and various other vegetables and spices. We served it with brown basmati rice.

Chris says:

Yum! The flavors work really well together — I love the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the spiciness of the … spices.

Lisa says:

Okay, *that’s* going on the blog.

Chris says:

Oy.

Lisa says:

This is why I love Great Bowls of Fire: it has the best volume to calories ratio of any of our cookbooks. The recipes are all delicious and you actually feel full afterwards!

Curried Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
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1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 fresh cayenne peppers, seeded and minced
1 tbsp minced ginger root
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, tomato, garlic, chili pepper, and ginger and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 5 or 6 minutes more.
Add the carrots, sweet potato, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
Ladle the curry into bowls and serve with basmati rice on the side.

3-4 Servings.

Lisa was browsing through Fitness Food and found this pretty odd recipe: a baked sweet potato covered with ground beef and salsa. Bizarre? Yep! We liked all the ingredients separately, however, so there was a pretty good chance it’d taste good together… and it did. The sweet of the potatoes was a nice contrast to the spicy salsa, and the corn on the cob we had on the side was well worth the flossing effort later on.

Baked Sweet Potatoes Mexicana
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4 7-oz orange sweet potatoes
oil spray
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
9 oz lean ground beef
10 1/2 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs tomato paste
11 1/2 oz jar salsa
light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400. Prick the sweet potatoes a few times with a skewer. Bake on the oven rack for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat a nonstick pan to medium. Lightly spray with the oil. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the beef and cook, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until browned. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the kidney beans, tomato paste, and salsa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Make a deep cut along the top of each cooked sweet potato. Divide the mixture among them and top with a dollop of sour cream.

4 Servings.