Curried Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Chickpea Soup

This soup was created with my motto "everything tastes better with curry" in mind.  I had about half of a container of Imagine Butternut Squash Soup left today from making Butternut Risotto for a client (yummm), half a bag of spinach, and half a can of chickpeas.  Since I knew spinach and chickpeas go together nicely, and I've used canned pumpkin in curry, I figured this soup idea wouldn't be much of a stretch. 

Oh, yeah, I also had about 6 Brussels Sprouts, which I halved and sauteed in olive oil first.  Then I tossed in the spinach and let it cook until wilted.  I sprinkled the veggies with about a teaspoon of curry powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric, and some sea salt and let it cook just a few seconds more until the lovely fragrance permeated the air.  I deglazed with about a tablespoon of Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk, about a cup of the butternut squash soup, and half a cup of water.  I let this simmer for a couple minutes, then served it topped with chopped green onion and a handful of fresh cilantro.  Supper couldn't be any easier or more satisfying on a cloudy and gray day like today. Even though it filled me up, two steaming bowls just weren't enough!

Chili Fried Rice

What do you do when you have a pot of leftover rice and beans in the fridge and a big bunch of fresh snow peas from the garden?  In my case, I fused a couple of Mexican and Chinese classics to create Chili Fried Rice.  It was the perfect quick and easy dinner.

First I sauteed some carrots, onion and mushrooms, then threw in the snow peas.  Once everything was fork tender, I added the rice and beans, cumin, chili powder, and a few tablespoons of salsa.  Simple as that.  As an added bonus, it cooked so quickly that my kitchen didn't even heat up.

I'm also fortunate to have a small patch of cilantro in the herb garden so I pulled a handful of leaves for the garnish.  Delish!