Hot dinner, freezing cold night

I think today is probably the coldest day we have had all year (it's Winter in this part of the world) and I am so grateful that the Lord has provided us with a comfortable house, warm clothes and a very effective heater.

Because it is so grey and wet outside I decided that it would be the perfect day to make pumpkin soup. As with my Banana Bread, it has taken me a few tries to perfect a pumpkin soup recipe. However, I think I have finally done it. I used this recipe from www.bestrecipes.com.au and modified it a little bit.

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic (optional)
2kg jap pumpkin (about 3/4 of a whole pumpkin), peeled and cut
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut
3 1/2 teaspoons of vegetable stock powder
3 1/2 cups water
200ml thickened cream

Method:
1. Lightly fry the onion and garlic in some oil in a large pot.
2. Add the cut pumpkin and potato, the vegetable stock and the water.
3. Let the water simmer for about 1/2 an hour till the vegetables are soft.
4. Let the soup cool for about 1/2 hour then blend it in a blender (or use a hand-held blender if you have one).
5. Pour all the soup back into the pot but do not put back onto the heat.
6. Add the cream and stir through.
7. Put the soup into bowl and heat in the microwave.

I still had a chicken breast sitting in the fridge that I had defrosted yesterday (then decided not to use for dinner last night) so I also made mini chicken pizzas. I cut up the chicken breast, fried it then added about 1/2 cup BBQ sauce to the pan. I coated the chicken in the sauce. Then I cut up a french bread stick and baked the pieces in the oven for about 10 minutes. I put some extra BBQ sauce on the bread pieces, added the cooked chicken and sprinkled some grated cheese on top. Very simple and delicious!