Southwestern Quinoa Stew with Squash, Black Beans, and Corn

A coworker brought in this soup one day and I had to get the recipe, it was so delicious!
This is from the cookbook "Whole Grains for Busy People" by Lorna Sass.  This version includes some small changes I made.

I only had 1/2 cup of quinoa, so I pretty much halved the recipe and it was almost too spicy for me because I used the whole can of chipotle in adobo without reading that she calls for 1 tablespoon!!  .Haha.  It is still really good, I just have to mix in a  little sour cream to cool it down.  It's fine for Chris, though!

Ingredients:
olive or vegetable oil
1/2 minced onion
2 small or 1 large clove garlic, minced
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa (found in the health food aisle)
1 tbsp chipotle in adobo (Goya)
1 bag (10 oz) frozen diced butternut squash (recipe called for mashed winter squash but we preferred diced)
1 can drained & rinsed baked beans
1 can corn or 1 bag frozen corn
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
dried cilantro to taste (fresh would be better, but I didn't have any)

In large pot, heat a bit of oil.  Stir in onion and garlic and cook for a few seconds.

Add broth and ~2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil uncovered and add the quinoa.  Simmer for ~10 minutes.

Stir in the chipotle in adobo (this is where I added the whole can instead of 1 tbsp!!)  The recipe said to mash the chipotles, but I left them whole for cooking and removed them when we were ready to eat the soup (too scared to eat them!).  Add the squash.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the beans and reduce heat to medium.

Continue cooking until there is no solid white dot of starch at the center of the quinoa.

Stir in the corn, pepper, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer a few more minutes, and serve.

Greek Soup

**GUEST CHEF**

Last week my husband made his mom's famous Greek Soup (Avgolmono soup).  It is a very simple but hearty soup consisting of chicken, rice, lemon, and egg.  It's delicious!  And of course I love when he cooks :)

Greek Soup

• One whole free range chicken (~ 4 lbs)
• 3/4 cup white rice
• the juice of one lemon
• 3 eggs
• s & p

Rinse chicken and put in large pot with enough water to completely cover it.  He leaves the giblets in and I pretend I don't see them, but they do add a lot to the flavor.  Boil chicken until the meat is falling off the bone; approximately 2 hours.

Remove chicken from pot, add rice and cook.  Let chicken cool enough to handle, then cut it up into smaller chunks.

Break eggs and put whites in medium bowl, set yolks aside.  Whip egg whites until they are frothy.  Then mix yolks in and add the juice of one lemon.

Once rice is cooked, turn the stove off and let the broth cool.  Pour some of the broth slowly into the egg mixture while mixing (you don't want the eggs to scramble!).  Once the bowl is full, add the egg/broth mixture to the pot w/the rest of the broth.  Add chopped chicken to soup, reheat and eat!