Chicken and Root Vegetable Soup

Approx. 190 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I was going to make this soup in the crock pot, but didn't get around to putting it together on Thursday night and didn't have enough time to wash and chop the veggies before work on Friday morning. I'm glad I didn't, since the turnips would have gotten really mushy if they had cooked all day.

I initially debated whether to post this recipe. The pumpkin colored and thickened the broth, but didn't add much to the flavor. The soup tasted ok, but it probably wasn't something that I was going to make again. My mind changed though after eating the leftovers for lunch today. After the soup sat in the fridge overnight, the flavors really blended together and it tasted so much better as a leftover than it did fresh out of the pot. I could taste the pumpkin, the turnips, and the sweet potato, and they had all soaked up the garlic and red pepper flavors. If you decide to make this, you might want to either let it simmer for a lot longer than I did, or just toss it in the fridge and plan to serve it as leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet potatoes
• 1 cup turnips
• 1 leek (approx. 1 cup)
• 1 cup mushrooms (I used portabella)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 7 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 6-8 cups water

Directions

1. Wash and chop all vegetables; dice chicken.
2. Add sweet potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Cook for approx. 4 minutes.
3. Add chicken and spices to the pot. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through.
4. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until sweet potatoes and turnips are tender.