Electrolux is teaming up with Foodbuzz at the 2nd annual Foodbuzz Festival.  They have an oven that actually has a Perfect Turkey Button!  How cool is that?  So they are asking for recipes for side dishes, appetizers or desserts since they already have the turkey cooking taken care of.

I really want to go the Foodbuzz Festival – I have so many foodie friends in California!  Lara, Kate, Amanda and Andy, Lynn, and Pubsgal, just to name a few!

So I started thinking.  I have hosted Thanksgiving probably a dozen times in my life.  One thing that is always tough is planning all the food so that its done at just the right time.  Then it hit me – soup!  It can be made ahead, its a great first course, and this one is not only delicious, but it will be a show stopper at your next Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin and Roasted “Popcorn” Soup

Makes 4 servings (211 calories, 9.5 fat, 28 carbs, 6.2 fiber and8.5 protein)

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1 chipotle pepper
15 ounce pumpkin, canned
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 cups corn, frozen
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper

Directions

  1. Mix all the ingredients, except corn, in a pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, put the frozen corn on a cookie sheet – sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil until the corn starts to turn golden brown.
  3. Using a stick blender, puree the soup. Place the soup in 4 separate bowls, adding 1/2 cup of the corn kernels to each bowl.

Funny thing is – this recipe came together with everything I had already!  Literally this soup goes from start to finish in less than 15 minutes.

simple ingredients - but the flavor combination is amazing - sweet with a little heat from the curry and chipotle pepper

And be careful roasting the corn – I went from frozen to broiler – and they do actually start to pop on your cookie sheet as they brown, hence the roasted “popcorn!”  Be careful – you need to pay attention otherwise they go from golden brown to black super quick.

I can’t tell you how delicious this soup is.   And the best part is that if they pick my recipe, this will be super easy to serve to lots of people! 😀

Okay, now back to our regular programming! 😀

I had leftover dough from the momo’s I made over the weekend.  It felt like pizza dough, so I thought, what the hell?   It was delicious – my breakfast pizza on a klassy paper plate:

Amanda left a comment on my no-mojo post yesterday, and agreed to be workout buddies with me – I couldn’t let her down – I agreed to do at least 7 miles on the exercise bike, she agreed to run 3 miles.  Thanks for the motivation Amanda (and everyone else who gave me a pep talk!)

I pushed myself so hard I thought I was going to puke – I have the type of personality that’s all or nothing – hate that sometimes!  I ended up walking for 15 minutes on the treadmill for a cool down.

Lunch was leftover lasagna with a side salad – I need to eat salads more often, a great way to get more veggies and fruit in.

with Boathouse brand reduced fat Parmesan dressing - so good!

Since I never menu planned this week, I picked up Chinese food on the way home – easy beef and broccoli 😀

except the fried rice was chock full of onions, even though I asked for no onions 🙁

And to Hannah, my cleaning OCD daughter, thanks for all your help yesterday!  Mind you, I don’t have a dirty house by any means, but let’s just say my standards and Hannah’s standards are not the same.  I could leave a glass on the counter for a day, put a drinking glass next to a coffee cup in the cupboard, and maybe ignore some dog hair on my kitchen floor.

Once Hannah has her cleaning mojo on though, look out!  She cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, even throwing out mugs and glasses we never use to give her more room, vacuumed the living room and cleaned the bathroom, including washing the bath mat!  I am sure I don’t tell you often enough, but thanks for helping around the house!  I love you and am so proud of you! 😀

Alright, time to get my ass in the shower – have a great Thursday! 😀