Butternut Squash Soup - Happy Thanksgiving!

So, it’s Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday – and this is the day that we give thanks for all the wonderful things in our lives…it is also the day that we can give thanks for the simple and mundane stuff that makes our lives easier. For instance, butternut squash in a bag….Trader Joes came through…my-bag cutting skills will endure.

And no lost fingers.

Where’s my good scissors?

Every Thanksgiving, I make Butternut Squash Soup. I clipped the recipe from the Philadelphia Inquirer about 20 years ago and have edited this yummy bisque over the years...it will be my contribution to our family’s Thanksgiving feast this year.

This savory soup is very easy to make and is always a big hit. Oldest daughter just said to me last night that she couldn’t wait to have some!

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
½ stick of butter
2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped (I use whole baby carrots)
One 2 lb bag of butternut squash (or 2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed)
1 quart of vegetable or chicken stock (I use vegetable)
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and wedged (my addition)
5 bay leaves
5 whole cloves (I like to put the bay leaves and cloves in a cheesecloth herb pouch so both are easy to remove later)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (my addition)
Dash cumin
Dash nutmeg
1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar
½ cup of Half & Half (my addition)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Sauté onion in the butter until limp and translucent (be nice).

Add the carrots, butternut squash and vegetable stock making sure to cover all the vegetables.

Bring to a boil, add the bay leave & clove pouch and the apples and simmer for 45-55 minutes until vegetables are soft.

Remove the bay leaves and cloves and puree in the food processor until very smooth.

Return to the pot and add a little more vegetable stock if too thick. Add the cumin, nutmeg, sugar and Half & Half and simmer until warm

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

As is sometimes the tradition on a holiday…something breaks in my house. One Christmas, it was the oven and we had to cook the turkey in the crock pot…that was fun. We briefly contemplated the outdoor grill but realized we didn’t have enough gas. This year, it was my trusty hand blender that I’ve had for many years….thank goodness we had the food processor…remember, you read about that. Oy.

You can always open a box of soup – similar skill to opening a bag – and pour the contents into a pot and heat it up, less time consuming, but not as satisfying!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for following my antics.