[cafe1084]

My sister and I love to have weekend dinners together and we share the cooking tasks. This weekend, I found a recipe for a soup that I was really unsure of...until I tasted it! It was so heart-warming and healthy, and it's my new favorite soup! The recipe is listed below:

1-1/2 Tbsp. Promise Butter Spread or Smart Balance spread
1 medium leek (pale green and white part), sliced (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups peeled, seeded and diced butternut squash (about 1 small)
1 small carrot, chopped
4 cups no fat, reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups baby spinach leaves leaves, coarsely chopped
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. EACH salt and ground black pepper

In 4-quart saucepot, melt Promise Butter Spread or smart balance spread over medium heat and cook leek 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in squash and carrot and cook 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in spinach, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Simmer covered 2 minutes.

I also made a salad with diced mango, diced apple, baby spinach leaves, dark seedless grapes, unprepared/pre-packaged coleslaw mix, and sliced almonds with a light spray of blush balsamic vinaigrette. She roasted a turkey breast loin and steamed some green beans with red peppers. Very good eats!

For avocado, because I saw a question about it earlier in the post:
I never really knew what to do with them either, but my sister's husband who is from guatemala says that you should eat avocado with every meal. They slice it up and it is served on the plate with the other food, the way most people do rice, pasta, or potatoes. The taste is not overwhelming and it is high in fat, but a good fat that unclogs your arteries and reduces your cholesterol. I find it interesting that if you use only 1/2 of the avocado, leave the seed in the other half and it will keep. Take the seed out and it goes bad very quickly.