Harvest Vegetable and Chicken Soup with Quinoa and Bacon

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings (scoop out and discard the rest). Crumble the bacon and set aside.
2. Increase the heat to medium high. Add the onion, butternut squash, carrot, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the drippings in the pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from pan and set aside.
3. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add the chicken to the pan; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Sauté 6 minutes or until the chicken is browned and done. Stir in the vegetable mixture, chicken broth, bay leaves, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper; bring to a boil.
4. Add the quinoa to the pan; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the kale, corn and thyme to the pan; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Discard the bay leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with bacon.