My Grandma LaRue proclaimed many times over the years that she was a horrible cook. Although I got the impression that she would have rather been sitting at her sewing machine than in the kitchen, I liked her cooking. Her sloppy joes (and chocolate cake) have been a favorite for four generations. When we eat sloppy joes, 99 percent of the time we have sweet potato fries on the table too—often with sloppy joe meat on top of the fries. (A fabulous variation on chili fries!) It was a natural progression to cook them in the same pot. I think Grandma would have liked this chili. (See the recipe Sloppy Joes for a Crowd.)
Prep time 25 minutes
Serves 6
2 tablespoons (29 ml) avocado oil
11/2 pounds (680 g) ground beef
1 15-ounce (425 g) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup (44 g) mustard
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon (20 g) honey
1 teaspoon dried sage
11/2 pounds (680 g) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons (16 g) tapioca flour
2 cups (475 ml) Homemade Beef Stock
1/2 cup (120 ml) pickle or sauerkraut juice
Chopped pickles or sauerkraut, for serving
1 Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until it is browned and cooked through. Transfer the meat to a 4-quart (3.8 liter) slow cooker.
2 Add tomato sauce, mustard, onion, chili powder, honey, and sage to the slow cooker. Stir well. Stir in the sweet potatoes.
3 Whisk the tapioca flour into the stock and add it, along with the pickle juice, to the slow cooker.
4 Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
5 Taste, and add salt if needed. Serve with chopped pickles or sauerkraut.
