If Sandra Lee was commenting on this, she would call it a “Round 2” recipe. She says that phrase on her show when she takes leftovers from one meal, and turns it into a completely different dish. Now, that term only loosely applies to this recipe because I am merely reusing one key ingredient: chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I bought the smallest can I could find, but it contains a TON of peppers. The Chipotle-Pomegranate Chicken recipe only requires TWO chilis. This surprised me at first, but they are SUPER spicy, so use sparingly. Don’t be afraid though, because when you use one or two in an entire recipe, it adds an amazing, smoky, chipotle flavor. Just make sure you remove the seeds with a knife. Luckily, the adobo sauce acts as a preservative for the chilis, so they will last in the fridge for a long time. But why not find a bunch of fun recipes that pack a punch?

So, when I purchased Dana Carpender’s “500 Paleo Recipes” cookbook, I zeroed in on her “Winter Squash Chipotle Bisque” right away. I’ve made this recipe each time with a single, medium-large butternut squash. As Dana suggests, you could use a different kind of winter squash. I made only a few changes, reduced the chicken broth by 2 cups, eliminated the glucomannan (bc I’ve never see it), doubled the garlic, and tried it with both regular and light coconut milk.

By reducing the liquid amount of broth, it makes it thicker, without the need to add glucomannan, almond meal or coconut flour. Using regular coconut milk also makes it a beautiful, creamy texture. With light coconut milk, you don’t get that same richness (which is not surprising because there is a higher water content). But hey, if you’re trying to keep the recipe lower in fat and calories, the light milk is still tasty.

A few notes about preparation: To reduce cooking time, soften the butternut squash in the microwave. If you have an aversion to the microwave, the squash should soften in 45-60 minutes on the stove. But, in a pinch, throw the chunks of squash in the microwave for 5-8 minutes, and then you will only need a fraction of the time on the stove (and only to marry the flavors). Also, I use a Vitamix for all my blending needs. They are an amazing tool, but you could also use a regular blender or hand-mixer.

If you would like to make this recipe vegetarian, simply substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large butternut squash (peeled and cut into cubes)
• 1 box (4 cups) low sodium chicken broth
• 1 yellow or red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 piece chipotle chile in adobo sauce (seeds removed)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 can coconut milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbs coconut oil

Instructions

• 1. Melt coconut oil in nonstick skillet pan on med/med high heat
• 2. Sautee onion for a few minutes
• 3. Remove seeds and cut squash into chunks
• 4. Rinse squash and remove skin with vegetable peeler or knife
• 5. Add garlic to onion, simmer for about a minute
• 6. Add chicken broth, chili, and cumin
• 7. Add cubed squash, cover
• 8. Reduce heat so that the broth and squash simmers
• 9. Cook until squash is soft enough to pierce with a fork (time depends of size of squash chunks, and whether or not you started the cooking process in the microwave)
• 10. Turn off burner
• 11. Add coconut milk and blend until smooth (with a hand-mixer, blender or Vitamix)
• 12. Enjoy!