Mexican Sweet Potato Bowls

I found a recipe on one of my favorite sites a couple weeks ago with sweet potato skins and lots of mexican ingredients inside. Here is the original recipe from Pinch of Yum (all of her recipes are delicious!) I decided to replicate using what I had on hand, and keeping a little more than just the skin of the sweet potatoes in the recipe (I love love sweet potatoes. Can’t get enough. Make them all the time with just a drizzle of olive oil and some S+P. Please don’t put sugar on them for me. Or marshmallows!).

Mexican Sweet Potato Bowls, serves 4-6:

• 1 crock pot recipe of shredded mexican chicken, see it here (Cafe Rio copycat chicken is my fave for many Mexican dishes)
• 3-4 sweet potatoes, halved
• 1 red pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1 tbsp. butter or oil
• chili powder
• garlic powder
• cumin
• 1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
• grated cheese, optional
• cilantro for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (as much as you want). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
3. Saute the onion & pepper in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Season with chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Scoop out some of the sweet potato insides (I used this inside part mashed up for my kids!). I left more than just the skins as the recipe calls for. It tasted delicious with a good amount of sweet potato in there!
5. Fill the bowls with the corn, black beans, chicken, and garnish with cilantro and/or cheese.
6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.