Another keeper!

Today seemed almost balmy compared to last week's 5 degree F group run. It was almost 25 degrees this morning! Not quite as warm as it was in Key West where several of our friends are running a half marathon this weekend, but a definite improvement! Still working on getting a little more consistent with running. I ran three days this week. Hopefully I'll be up to five days per week soon. ::sigh::

I have been a little more consistent in fixing dinner even though we've been on the run a lot lately. Last night I fixed Sponge's Mom's Chili, one of the first recipes I ever found online about 12 years ago when we first got AOL. Does anyone know Sponge? Tell his mom thanks! ;-)

After catching a bit of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals show this week, I decided to make Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup. It's a thick Stew-Soup with plenty of veggies and chunks of chicken, jazzed up with the addition of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Chopping took a little bit of time but otherwise this dish was simple to prepare. It did seem to need to cook a bit longer to reduce a bit so I don't think we made it under the 30-minute wire. Pretty tasty with a little zip, I'll likely be making this again!


Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped, plus a spoon of sauce from the can (1 to 2)
Salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon dry thyme, eyeball it
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
5 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
3/4 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces (3/4 to 1)
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish, optional


Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan.

While soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the oil. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping as small as you can, but don't make yourself crazy.. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces. Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of stoup with a dollop of sour cream on top.