Last year, I hosted a Super
bowl party. It was fun, but also a lot of work. Cooking for a crowd
creates A LOT of dishes, plus it takes time to pull it all
together. If it was a regular game, I would have snuck away and
tackled dishes during commercials, but since I actually
like the commercials during the Super Bowl, I ignored
them, let the dishes pile up and then swore to myself, as I was
still cleaning well past midnight, that next year I would do
something different.
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This year (luckily) I’m not hosting, but I’ve been asked to bring a dish to a friend’s house to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers duke it out. I’m still haunted by the mountain of dishes and the hours it took to get things under way last year, so I’m keeping it simple. I’m making a Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili that’s a) made in one pot, and b) is done in less than an hour, and c) is delicious and healthy too. (See the recipe for Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili below.)
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That way I still have football-appropriate food, but only one pot to clean. And I don’t have to spend a million years making it. Plus if I fill up on my chili, I can forgo the other not-so-good-for-you snacks that I know will be lurking at the party.
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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups each
Active time: 25 minutes | Total: 40 minutes | To make ahead: Cover
and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Cost per serving: under $2.50
Make a double batch of this quick vegetarian chili, full of black beans and sweet potatoes, and eat it for lunch the next day or freeze the extras for another night. We love the smoky heat from the ground chipotle, but omit it if you prefer a mild chili. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread and coleslaw.
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet
potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is
beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder,
cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30
seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to
maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender,
10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and
return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until
slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in
cilantro.
Per serving: 307 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg
cholesterol; 51 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 12 g protein; 14
g fiber; 494 mg sodium; 947 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (213% daily value), Vitamin C (48% dv),
Iron (32% dv), Folate (29% dv), Potassium (27% dv), Calcium (16%
dv).
Note: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com.
What are you going to make for the Super Bowl?
EatingWell Associate Food Editor Hilary Meyer spends much of her time in the EatingWell Test Kitchen, testing and developing healthy recipes. She is a graduate of New England Culinary Institute.
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