Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Grass-fed Beef Chili and Avocado

Chef Tanner Marino's quick and healthy take on chili fries.  This recipe is loaded with vegetables, a great source of healthy fat, and much lower in fat than the traditional preparation.  Enjoy your favorite comfort foods at home without all the added hormones, saturated fat, and heavily processed ingredients.  

Buy Local!  Sweet potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, bell pepper, grass-fed beef, tomatoes, and swiss chard are all available from your local farmers in Upstate SC.  

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo 

Present your food artfully and let your eyes reel you in!  

Ingredients:
Coconut oil or ghee
3 small sweet potatoes, cut into wedges*

2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6 button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. homemade chicken stock 
1/2 lb. grass-fed beef
handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 oz. tomato paste
2 tbl. chili powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano, dried
1 tsp. smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
5 swiss chard leaves, remove stems and finely julienne  
1 avocado, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Toss sweet potato wedges in coconut oil, sea salt, and pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.  
2. Heat oil or ghee in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute garlic, onion, and green bell pepper, add chicken stock and cook until soft.  Remove from pan and set aside.  
3.  Add ground beef to pan and brown.  Use spatula to break apart.  
4.  Add all remaining ingredients (including garlic, onion, etc) and stir to combine.  Turn the heat down to low and let simmer until swiss chard wilts.  
5.  Place sweet potatoes on plate, top with chili, and sliced avocado.


Recipe and food photo by Tanner Marino.  Photo of Tanner by Stephen Stinson.  

*For low-carb folks:  substitute the sweet potatoes for butternut squash, peel and slice into wedges.  

Tanner is a Chef and local foods enthusiast in Greenville, SC.  He has a passion for using simple quality ingredients and transforming them into artfully prepared delicious creations.  His dishes are featured daily at The Nose Dive and Tanner is currently available for hire as a private chef.