Castellon's Kitchen: Spicy Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

This is hands down the best beef stew recipe I've ever had. The Latin spices and the sweet potatoes in this beef stew sets this one apart. Traditional beef stew is kinda bland to me, but this one is pure greatness. Spicy, full of flavor with a bit of heat in the end. And the sweet potatoes are a nice change of taste and texture from traditional starchy potatoes.
I substituted the poblano chilies in this recipe for some New Mexico chiles that I got from my friend Danielle last year. I still had one bag of them left in the freezer and tossed them in. Maybe that's where all the heat came from in this version. You just never know how hot or mild those New Mexico chilies will be. I don't mind, for me the hotter the better. But not so great for my kiddos. I'll file this recipe under, "Recipes my kids won't eat". Next time, I'll make it milder for them, substituting with roasted mild Anaheim chilies. Whether you like it spicy or mild this recipe is super delicious and easy because the slow cooker does all the work. Enjoy!

Spicy Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Stew (slightly adapted recipe from Cuisine at Home)
Makes 12 cups

1 boneless beef chuck roast (2.5-3 lb), trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and pepper.
3/4 c flour
3-4 T vegetable oil
2 T tomato paste
4 c beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large onion, diced (2cups)
2 T garlic, minced
1 T each of chili powder, dried Mexican oregano and ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, seeded and diced (I used New Mexico Chilies but you can also substitute with mild Anaheim chilies for less heat.)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 T fresh lime juice

Toss beef with flour to coat. Brown beef in 3-4 batches in 1 T oil per batch in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer beef to a slow cooker and stir in any remaining flour. Add tomato paste to skillet and cook over medium heat, 1- 2 minutes. Deglaze skillet with broth, scraping up any brown bits. Increase heat to high and boil 2 minutes. Pour broth mixture over beef in slow cooker. Add tomatoes. onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin and coriander. Cover and cook for 4 hours. Add sweet potatoes and cook an additional hour. Stir in chiles, corn, cilantro and lime juice.