3 large potatoes, chopped
3 chorizo sausages, skinned and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 red chili, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons water
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add onions, chili pepper and garlic, sautéing until tender.
2. Add the potatoes, sausage, bay leaves, paprika and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked, about 30 minutes.
4. Refrigerate soup and scoop off excess fat if desired. Otherwise, mix water and corn starch together and mix into broth. Reheat and serve with fresh basil.

Makes 6 servings

My actual dinner tonight was a ham sandwich and yogurt because we got home late and we have very little in the fridge because we're leaving for the weekend to visit our parents. I did make something though, which I'll likely eat before bed tonight and tomorrow for breakfast and lunch before we hit the road; Chorizo and Potato Soup. Not only a good way of utilizing my leftovers, chorizo and potato soup is a simple and inexpensive soup that, like most soups, is even better the next day. This is the most basic variation, but you could add more peppers for extra heat, tomatoes, mushrooms, rice or whatever suits your fancy.

The following days will be a tough test on the project since dinner is almost entirely out of my control. I can only hope that since my mom is cooking ham that Shannon's is making turkey and we'll see how it goes from there.