Curried Pumpkin Soup

I'm no professional chef and I really don't cook very often, mainly because of time constraints, but I really like to cook and have come up with some dishes that leave others wanting more. Most recently I make a curried pumpkin soup that was a big hit at a recent Halloween party. I later made it again for the local bridge club, which is filled with good cooks, and they all loved it. It's really has more of a chili texture than soup.

I started by cooking about 1 pound of ground chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, and curry powder. You can use any meat you like - beef or pork would have been my preference but there were people at the party who don't eat beef and some that don't eat pork. Then I used 2 15 oz. cans of pumpkin meat and 2 10 3/4 oz cans of chicken broth for the soup base. I mixed these together in a crock pot on high. What vegetables you put in the soup are up to you but here are the spices and veggies that I like:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 jalepeno peppers, diced
1 can kidney beans
1 green pepper
Carrots
Celery

Curry powder
Cumin
Garlic
Turmeric
Bay leaves
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Brown sugar

Mix it all together in the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, then reduce to low for 8 more hours. Taste it after an hour and add spices to suit your taste. Take to a party or potluck and wait for the compliments to come your way.