Recipe for autumn stew

The other night, what started as highly improvised cooking experiment resulted in a dish not only edible, but actually pretty delicious. It's a light but hearty stew with some of my favorite fall flavors, such as butternut squash, cinnamon, and, of course, turkey! If it sounds good to you, I encourage you to give it a try. (It's a great way to trick yourself into eating vegetables.)

(Note: I'm estimating the measurements, because I didn't measure when I made it. It's a stew, so you can eyeball it. Oh, and I definitely took a shortcut, because the butternut squash base is not made from scratch. But I bet if you did make it from scratch, it would be even better. Why don't you try that and I'll come taste it? Sounds like a plan.)

Ingredients:

½ lb lean ground turkey

½ yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped

4-5 carrots, sliced (or, substitute baby carrots)

2 c. peas (fresh or frozen)

1 box of V8 butternut squash soup (yup, I cheated)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1-2 tbps butter

cinnamon, to taste

black pepper, to taste

(Idaho potato or sweet potato, optional)

Directions:

1. Boil 4-6 cups of water in a large pot.

2. Add carrots and peas, boil until carrots are tender.

While carrots/peas are cooking:

3. In large frying pan, saute chopped onions in butter and garlic; when onions appear soft, add ground turkey, and, if you want, a little pepper. Cook until meat is completely white.

4. Drain carrots/peas and place back into pot.

5. Add turkey/onions to pot.

6. Dump in the entire box of butternut squash soup.

7. Simmer on low-med heat for 3-4 mins, until soup starts to bubble.

8. Stir in cinnamon (trust me) and black pepper to taste.

...and enjoy.

You can eat the stew by itself, but it's also good over a baked potato, either regular (Russet) or sweet. And I bet it's awesome with cornbread, if you can swing that.

Happy eating (I hope)!