Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup

Ryan and I woke up to our toddler giggling and climbing all over our pillows. 

It was such a beautiful sound. 

(A few hours earlier, it would have not been the same ring to my ears). 

Ryan's alarm must have gone off at one point, but I sleep so soundly, I honestly never hear it. He claims it goes off every morning, but I can't recall even the sound it makes, or it ever going off in the first place. 

He jumped in the shower, the Disney channel came on, and I laced up my running shoes. Grudgingly, I slogged down the apartment stairway towards the gym across the parking lot. Unfortunately, as I started trotting along, I checked my iPod. It was completely uncharged (after being plugged into the wall for a day... ugh). The toddler must have found it. I quietly prepared myself for an even longer-feeling run without music on a treadmill. 

It was then when I stopped right outside the door to the gym. 

I realized something unexpected and heavenly: 

it was warm outside. 

Really warm. 

Delightfully warm. 

Well then, I thought with a smile.

The sunrise from the east was breathtaking. It made the clouds look like whipped cherry frosting. The sun hadn't quite peeked over those majestic Rockies. 

I stepped away from the door, and with a sneaky grin on my face, I started to run towards my favorite trail off our apartment complex property. 

The field around me was still drenched with sunflowers and the crisp of the evening. The sky was happily encouraging my efforts, and instead of my usual blaring Rihanna and Biance, was the simple sound of my running shoes hitting the deep Earth below me and my gratefully healthy lungs filling with the warm morning air. I felt free, and my soul was filled with everything surrounding me. 

A case of the Mondays has no power of me after a beautiful morning like that, my friends.

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xo, 

blondie

P.S. This soup is an amazing way to spice up your usual bowl of potato. The green chilies, cumin, roasted red pepper and cilantro give the soup the perfect flair, and create such a creamy warmth in every bite. It's also vegetarian. So if that's your bag, go nuts, my friends. If not, I think next time I would prefer to sub the veggie broth for chicken. And maybe toss in a handful of bacon. 

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Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup
makes 6 servings

ingredients:
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 T EVOO
1 jar (7oz) roasted sweet peppers, undrained and chopped
1 can (4oz) chopped green chilies, drained
2 T ground cumin
1 t salt
1 t ground coriander
3 C diced potatoes
3 C vegetable broth
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1 T lemon juice
1/2 C cream cheese

method:
1. In your soup pot, saute onions in oil until tender. Stir in the roasted peppers, chilies, cumin, salt, and coriander. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and broth, bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Pull off heat.
3. Pour half the soup into a blender and puree with cream cheese until smooth. Pour back into the soup pot with the other half of the soup. Heat through again on medium. Serve warm.

recipe source: Taste of Home