Tried and True: Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

I found this recipe through Pinterest. Ah, Pinterest. Yesterday we tried it. And it was great!
So easy. So delicious.
One of those "put everything in a pot, turn it on, and forget it for the next eight hours. Then stir it and eat it. Done."

You can get the original recipe from He & She eat Clean HERE.

I didn't have any ground turkey, which I'm sure would have cut the fat content down, but I just used ground beef and it tasted good.
Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
(Which, holy crap, I just realized I forgot to put that in the chili yesterday. HA! Still tasted good but I bet it would have been better if I hadn't forgotten it.)
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb ground beef (original recipe calls for ground turkey)
1 bayleaf
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp sea salt (I used regular salt)
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used paprika, still works)
1.5 cups water

Directions:
1. Put vegetables and beans in the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Layer ground meat, spices, seasonings, and water
3. Put on the crock pot lid and cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Remove lid and stir. Adjust seasonings to taste (we found that it needed a dash more salt. But then again, I did forget the garlic. Maybe we wouldn't have needed the salt if I hadn't.)
5. Replace lid, cook for an additional 20-30 mins on low.

I served it with corn bread. It makes a lot, way more than Bret and I could eat.
DELICIOUS!

Going on my Tried and True Pinterest board and in my cook book where I write my favorite recipes.

I'm trying several other recipes this week, so I'll have lots of Tried and True (or possibly tried, denied) recipes coming up! These are the ones I'm trying: Pita Bread, Beef Stuffed Crescent Rolls, and a homemade crescent roll recipe. We'll see how they turn out!

Hopefully I won't forget any ingredients this time.