This recipe won the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission’s Blogger Recipe Contest (Kid-Friendly Category) several years ago! I created it with my two daughters, who were about two and four years old at the time. They loved assembling their own packets. These would also do well as a camping meal. These “tacos” or foil packets are full of flavor and require a dollop of Simple Guacamole on top, whether you’re roughing it or not.
Prep time 30 minutes
Serves 6
1 pound (455 g) ground beef
Sea salt and black pepper
1 4-ounce (113 g) can diced green chillies
1/2 cup (123 g) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning
11/2 cups (168 g) frozen chopped spinach
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
Simple Guacamole, salsa, and fresh cilantro, for serving
1 In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the beef and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the beef up into small chunks, until the meat has crispy brown bits throughout, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2 Add green chillies, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, and spinach to the skillet. Stir and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes, until flavors have blended and the spinach is heated through. Remove from heat and set aside.
3 Tear six sheets of aluminum foil, each about as large as a placemat. In the center of each square, place 1 cup (133 g) of sweet potato cubes and 2/3 cup (133 g) of seasoned ground beef over the top. Fold opposite sides to the center. Then bring the other sides together in the middle and fold them together downward, creating a sealed packet.
4 Place the packets in a 6-quart (5.7 liter) slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours (or 2 to 3 hours on high). Check sweet potatoes for doneness by unwrapping a packet and poking them with a fork.
5 Remove the packets from slow cooker and serve with guacamole, salsa, and fresh cilantro.
