Recipe: chipotle butternut squash soup

I know it's only August and therefore too early for soup season but while I was cleaning this weekend I found a Taste of Home recipe book for soups under microwave and started thumbing through. There were many recipes that caught my eye but only one had a 'must make now' appeal to me.  I love squash and I love chipotle peppers and the two together are a magical combination. The soup didn't end up as sweet and spicy as I thought it would but for a first attempt it wasn't bad. I think the next time I make it I'll have to add another pepper or two.  However, for those who don't like soups quite as spicy as I do, this recipe is probably just about perfect!

What you need:

• 2 cups diced peeled butternut squash
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute the squash, carrot, onion and cumin in oil for 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add 1-1/2 cups broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are tender; cool slightly.

Transfer mixture to a blender; add the tomatoes, cream cheese, basil, chipotle pepper and remaining broth. Cover and process for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.

Return to the saucepan; stir in the beans, corn and spinach. Cook and stir until spinach is wilted and soup is heated through.

I made very few changes to this recipe. I used plain frozen corn because I couldn't find this Mexicorn that the author spoke of. I also didn't add the spinach, not because I don't like spinach but because I completely forgot to buy it. I more than doubled the cumin and threw in some chipotle pepper powder to add a bit more spice to the dish. I think this would be good with a bit of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt served on top (if that's your thing).

I am NOT a statistic

This is the first time I've blogged in over a month and unfortunately I'm not doing this in the right frame of mind. I don't use the phrase hot mess lightly.  When I say hot mess, I mean hot mess and that's how I feel. I have so much drama in my life right now that I can hardly stand it at times.  And to be fair, I don't deal with this much constant stress well. LeAnn, have they changed the rules yet?  Am I allowed to start a sentence with the word and??  It wouldn't be so bad if the stress and drama were limited to one area of my life but they seem to be taking over everything.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been very bad for the last month. I haven't been eating or working out the way  I should be, the way I need to be. Especially considering the fact that I was in such a good place before I left for home last month. I was so dedicated to my exercise and eating so well that the weight was just falling off.  Now, I'm scared to step on the scale. In all honesty, I stepped on the scale this morning for the first time since July 15th and it made me so sad. Once I got over being sad, I was MAD AS HELL. I am becoming the one thing I promised myself I wouldn't become when I really started to lose weight. I am becoming a statistic.  I am on the verge of becoming one of those people who lose a significant amount of weight and then gain it back.  I've read the articles. Depending on the research there is evidence that anywhere from 70-90% of all people who lose weight gain it back, and then some. Screw that.  That is not that path that I'm on. I refuse to give up. I've come so far and I am not going back.

So, this weekend is officially my reboot. I cleaned my apartment so I can start in a nice, tidy environment. I'm working on menus for this week so that I have no excuse to eat out and I'm going to make sure that I'm getting my runs in where they're supposed to be.  I mean, come on. I have a 5K that I'm running with Jessica in November, I better get my butt in gear or she'll be kicking it on thanksgiving. I'm actually glad that we decided to do the Gobble Wobble (how cool of a name is that?!?!) because it gives me something concrete to work towards.

I'm enlisting Julie's help as well as she's my only local fitness friend.  She's been experiencing some of the same issues as me and we've decided to keep each other on the straight and narrow. I know I can do this because, well I've done this before. I just need to stop letting stress and drama that I can't control affect the things in life that I can. That's what this 'lifestyle' change is all about right? Being able to see when you're getting nutty and spiraling out of control and then being able to pull everything back together.

On that note, I need to get my grocery list finished and head out to the store.  I promise it won't take this long for me to blog again and I also promise that I will catch up on all of the blog posts that I haven't been reading in my absence!