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Butternut Squash Soup, Spin & White Chili

Soup Sunday
Last night I ended up making a Creamy Curried Butternut Squash Soup for dinner. A friend had given me several butternut squash, and soup on Sunday sounded perfect.


Creamy Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/2 white onion, diced
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
1 can light coconut milk
1 not-beef bouillon cube (or vegetable stock if you have)
1 1/2 cups water
To taste: salt, pepper, turmeric, curry powder, garam masala, parsley, red pepper
1 package firm silken tofu (you could use a cashew cream as well)


Directions:
In large soup pot, saute onions, squash, garlic until the onions begin to soften.

Stir in coconut milk, water, and bouillon cube, and spices and allow to simmer until squash begins to soften. Add in the tofu and continue to cook until squash is soft and can be easily pureed.

Either transfer to a blender and puree until smooth or use an immersion blender. Re-season if needed.
 

I toasted up some lavash that I cut into strips and sprinkled with some garam masala. I also topped with some cashews as I was out of pumpkin seeds, or I would have used those instead. This is really a nice, filling soup. It comes together quickly too, so that makes it even better in my book.

Spin & Painting Cardio
Today I hit up spin at noon and then took the rest of the day off. I had so much that needed to be done, including errands. Spin was good. It's nice not going the day after a leg day. Though, my legs started off a little tight from yesterday's 7-miler.

I was supposed to do an easy 4 mile run according to my half marathon training plan. However, the errands, chores, and continued home repair projects sort of trumped the run. I kept thinking that maybe I'd start getting that itch to get out there for the run. But, it never happened and I'm totally ok with that. Going up and down a step stool painting is a workout all on it's own.

The only fail was that the color I picked is not at all what I was hoping for. How on earth does that happen? Not sure if I am going to have to go back and get another color and paint again or what. I have bath rugs and artwork already that goes with the color I was aiming for. 

Chili Night
I had several ideas for dinner, especially since I had stocked up at the grocery store. At least I have those things in mind for the rest of the week - semi-meal planning. Jason has been wanting a white chili lately. Since I picked up poblanos at the store today, I thought I'd go ahead and make my Roasted White Chili.
 

The only difference is that I didn't roast garlic as I only had it as minced in a jar. I also started out with less broth than I typically use because I like my chili to be a little thicker and this one has a tendency to be more stew-like (not a bad thing of course). I topped mine with some Daiya Vegan Cheese, but you could add any cheese or even sour cream or Greek yogurt.


Daily To-Enjoy List:
  • Spin class
  • Getting the bathroom painted
  • Making it to the grocery store
  • Movie night (Haunting of Molly Hartley)
  • Chili dinner

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