African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans

I love my slow cooker. I don't use it as often as I probably should, mainly because I have a limited recipe repertoire for it, but when I do use it I am reminded of how wonderful and useful it is. 
This stew comes from Wednesday night. It was my first day of my externship, and I had no idea when I would be home or how tired I would be. This is the perfect time to pull out the slow cooker, I thought to myself. And because I had to be up pretty early on Wednesday morning I actually did most of the prep for this the night before. I sauteed the onion and garlic and chopped the sweet potato and just put it all in a big bowl in the refrigerator so that all I had to do the next morning was toss it in the slow cooker.
Is this stew authentically African? I have no idea. It does taste similar to some things I have had at Ethiopian restaurants I have eaten at. It was filling and hearty and perfect for the cold, cold weather. (The high on Wednesday was 16 degrees! 16!) I ate it for lunch on Friday and on Sunday. It keeps really well and would probably freeze nicely too.

African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans - adapted from Cooking Light Slow Cooker

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
4 c cubed peeled sweet potato, about 1.5 lbs (1/2 in dice)
1 16 oz can small red beans
2 c vegetable broth (low sodium if possible)
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp grated peeled ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato, drained
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
3 tbs creamy peanut butter
3 tbs chopped dry-roasted peanuts
lime wedges

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook 5 min or until tender.
Place onion mixture and next 10 ingredients into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Spoon 1 c cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add peanut butter. Whisk until completely incorporated. Stir mixture into stew. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

I served this with some rolls I made from refrigerated pizza dough. Super easy and delicious.