Welcome September with Butternut Squash Soup

With a deadline looming, I'm not cooking very much. Suppers have been pretty simple: hot dogs, salads, sandwiches... but that is all going to change this week.

Soup weather is here! Our weather is turning decidedly fall-ish this week with highs in the 60's, and even the 50's later this week!

As I wrote my menu for this week, I went hunting for some of my favorite soup and stew recipes, and ran across this one that I shared several years ago. I can hardly wait to make it again!

Butternut Squash Soup

I love fall. I especially love fixing those warm, comforting fall soups and casseroles after a summer of salads and wraps!

This soup is so easy - and all because of one simple ingredient.

Did you spot my shortcut ingredient? That bag of squash cubes! Peeled, cubed squash. All set for your favorite recipe.

Does life get any better than this?

Here's the recipe:

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon oil - olive or coconut
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (or any other winter squash)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
dash of chili powder for garnish (optional)

Buying the prepared squash saves so much time. The only other prep you need to do is to chop the carrots and onion, and mince the garlic.

Mini-lesson: Mincing the garlic is easy if you have a garlic press. But if yours is in the dishwasher because your son used it to make one of his delicious concoctions, you can mince your clove of garlic this way:

Lay the flat side of your knife on top of a peeled garlic clove.

Smash the knife against the garlic clove with a
sharp rap, then mince.

The veggies look fabulous, don't they?

Saute the veggies in the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the squash, broth, salt, pepper and sage. Cook until the squash is tender - about 20 minutes or so.

Remove your saucepan from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Run the soup through your blender, half the recipe at a time.

Or use your hand-held blender. Go ahead. I'm not jealous.

Not at all.

Pour into a bowl, garnish with chili powder if desired.

This recipe makes two servings, or one if it's the main course of your meal.

Enjoy!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Mushroom-Butternut Stew to Warm You

Missy Tippens, here. And it's FREEZING in Georgia! So I thought I'd share a recipe that should warm you to your toes.

I found this recipe here, at the Martha Stewart website. (The website looks funny using Safari, so I had to click on "print" to see the full directions.) I'll be sharing my version of it.

Ingredients--

• 1 cup dried lima beans, prepared according to quick soak directions
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced ( I used my already prepared minced garlic)
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces portobello mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces (Or see my notes below about roasting ahead of time)
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch kale (8 oz.), stems removed and leaves thinly sliced (6 cups)
• Kosher salt

BEANS: I prepared the dried beans ahead of time or you could even use canned beans and rinse them. They weren't fully cooked, but I did the quick soak method and then partially cooked them.

SQUASH: I refuse to peel and cube butternut squash. So I also prepared the squash ahead of time. I cut it in half, roasted at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes until nearly done. Then I let it cool a bit and cubed it. Then scraped the cubes out of the skin.

Now, cook the onions and garlic in the oil. Then transfer to a bowl. Next, add more oil to the skillet and add the mushrooms in batches, cooking until nice and done.

Once the mushrooms are golden brown, put them all back in the pan along with the onions and garlic. Then put in the bay leaf, stock, beans and squash. Bring to a simmer and cook a few minutes until beans and squash are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the kale for the last five minutes.

This was so tasty! And even my daughter loved it. She's actually decided she likes butternut squash better than sweet potatoes. I think it's a close tie. :)

www.missytippens.com

Welcome September with Butternut Squash Soup

I love fall. I especially love fixing those warm, comforting fall soups and casseroles after a summer of salads and wraps!

This soup is so easy - and all because of one simple ingredient.

Did you spot my shortcut ingredient? That bag of squash cubes! Peeled, cubed squash. All set for your favorite recipe.

Does life get any better than this?

Here's the recipe:

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon oil - olive or coconut
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (or any other winter squash)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
dash of chili powder for garnish (optional)

Buying the prepared squash saves so much time. The only other prep you need to do is to chop the carrots and onion, and mince the garlic.

Mini-lesson: Mincing the garlic is easy if you have a garlic press. But if yours is in the dishwasher because your son used it to make one of his delicious concoctions, you can mince your clove of garlic this way:

Lay the flat side of your knife on top of a peeled garlic clove.

Smash the knife against the garlic clove with a
sharp rap, then mince.

The veggies look fabulous, don't they?

Saute the veggies in the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the onion is translucent.

Stir in the squash, broth, salt, pepper and sage. Cook until the squash is tender - about 20 minutes or so.

Remove your saucepan from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Run the soup through your blender, half the recipe at a time.

Or use your hand-held blender. Go ahead. I'm not jealous.

Not at all.

Pour into a bowl, garnish with chili powder if desired.

This recipe makes two servings, or one if it's the main course of your meal.

Enjoy!