Butternut Squash Soup

I'm sorry. I've slacked on posting. I've been busy. Crazy busy.

And it was my birthday. That gets me out of jail free, right?

I feel like I've been apologizing to people a lot lately. The last two and a half weeks or so have been absolutely insane, as far as my schedule has been concerned. Deadlines galore, and a weekend out of town to top it off. Not that I'm complaining. I like my life busy. But... really? It was a little much.

But now I'm home. And refreshed. And ready for this four-day work week followed by another week off. Gosh, being a teacher is tough. Ha. If you only knew.

Best thing about being home? Being able to cook my own food! And to celebrate that amazing freedom, I made the best soup ever on the face of the planet. Honestly, it's that good.

Butternut Squash Soup

adapted from My Aunt Virginia's Recipe

 photo by Jessica Y.

So good with cornbread! (see archives for a recipe!)

1 Butternut Squash (2 lbs. or so)

1 Acorn Squash (1 lb.)

2 Sweet Potatoes

2.5 cubed granny smith apples

3 chopped cloves of garlic

1 chopped white onion

2 chopped red bell pepper

2 T grated Ginger root

2 15 oz. cans chicken broth

4 stalks celery

1 cup half and half

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. onion salt

2 tsp. garlic pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. smoked paprika

2 tsp. dried basil

 

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a 9x13 baking dish, with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times. Place on a cookie sheet. Put the potatoes and squash in the oven at 350 for about an hour and 15 minutes. Remove them and let them cool enough to handle (I did these the day before and just refridgerated them until i was ready to use them).

 

 

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Once the onions start to brown, add the apple, squash, celery, potatoes, pepper and seasonings. Add the broth and heat to a boil. Continue to boil for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

 

Feel free to sample your concoction while it is boiling, and add any spices you'd like. You won't screw it up, I promise.

 

3. After the soup boils for a little over an hour, use a food processor to blend the soup until smooth, eliminating all the large chunks.

 

4. Once you have blended the soup, add 1-2 cups of half and half (depending on the consistency that you want), and mix thoroughly. Return to heat and boil for about 10 minutes.

5. Serve with corn bread. Devour.

6. Write me love letters, thanking me for this recipe.