Squash Soup

There is nothing I like better in cold weather than butternut squash soup.

I love hearty soups, with chunks of meat and vegetables, and lots of them. For a long time, I used organic butternut soup from a box as a soup base. When I stumbled on this recipe several years ago, I thought I would try it because it's fairly easy to make and a lot cheaper than what I was using. The results were out of this world! I love this soup so much, we eat it more 'plain' than I use it as a soup base.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded & cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6-8 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion & sauté until golden.

2. Add the honey and heat 1 minute.

3. Add squash and 6/7 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook until the squash is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from saucepan and let cool several minutes.

4. Puree mixture in blender until the desired smoothness. Return soup to the pan. Add extra stock to thin to desired consistency.

5. Add cream, heat if desired. Do NOT boil soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

Janel's Tips, Tricks & Ideas

The recipe originally calls for butternut squash, but without much alteration at all, you could easily use acorn squash, buttercup or almost any other favorite hard winter squash or pumpkin.

A dash of nutmeg or cloves brings a nice twist to this soup.

I love adding carrot slices, broccoli, peas, sweet potatoes, beef chunks, and other steamed vegetables to make this a hearty soup.

Nothing beats a fresh loaf of whole wheat bread from the oven to accompany this soup. This also makes a great soup to serve in bread bowls along with a tossed salad.

I like this soup with a garden salad and wheat crackers as well. psst... Don't forget the goat cheese for your crackers!

If you make this soup using pumpkin, serve it in pumpkin 'bowls'. Secure 4-6 small cooking pumpkins the size of softballs. Cut out the top like you would a jack-o-lantern, scrape out the seeds. Bake them in a 400 degree oven for 40-60+ minutes until the flesh is soft when poked with a fork. Pour the soup inside and serve at the table.

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