Pumpkin and Pepper Soup
When my youngest son was 12, he came home raving about Pumpkin Soup that his class had made at school that day, you can bet I sat up and took notice. Not that he was a picky eater (I mean the kid used to request leftover liver and onions for breakfast, for goodness sake) but the selection of items he would eat was rather "limiting". Just the fact that someone got him to taste a soup that had pumpkin in it was a minor miracle. I did a quick internet search but didn't find a recipe that quite fit my tastes, so I experimented and came up with this one. It is one of Colin's favorites.

The recipe is the best made with fresh (or fresh frozen) tomotoes and homemade chicken broth, but you can get good results with canned as well. When I had a large garden I would freeze peppers and stewed tomatoes in portions especially for the winter months when I would make this soup.

2 tsp. olive oil or peanut oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper (the sweeter the better)
1/8 c. chopped jalapeno pepper,seeds removed(adjust up or down according to the heat you want)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
4 cups stewed tomatoes*
1 lg. can pumpkin
2 tsp. curry powder
1 ½ tsp. cumin
1 ½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
8 c. chicken broth
2 c. water (or less if you prefer it thicker, just play around with this)
Saute onions and pepper in oil, adding garlic at the end. Add the tomatoes and puree mixture in batches in the blender. Return to pot and add pumpkin, spices, broth, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Can serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

I frequently freeze 2 cup portions and it freezes very well.

Calories (you'll like this!): ~ 75 per cup with very little fat. Carbs? Who knows, but at 75 calories a cup, who cares?

Enjoy!!

*If you are using fresh tomatoes that you have stewed you might want to peel them first. I usually don't, but the peels don't puree very well.