Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

This one's a must try.  Butternut squash is one of the overall best vegetables out there, at least in my opinion.  If you love potatoes, but don't want something quite as dense, give butternut squash an honest chance. It tastes GREAT with spices, and is absolutely loaded with delicious flavor and nutrients.  It's also very low calorie, and much lower in overall calorie density than potatoes or sweet potatoes.

You can mash them, grill them, BBQ them, and my personal favorite, make soup out of them!  Here's a recipe for probably the greatest soup I've ever had.  My mom used to make it all the time, and I still miss it day in and day out.  It's only 90 calories a cup, and has none of that horribly high sodium content you'll find in other canned soups.

Here you go:

Butternut squash soup-Serves 8

Ingredients-

-2.5lbs butternut squash, skin and seeds removed, roughly cut into 1/2 inch cubes
-1 tablespoon of canola oil
-2 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and roughly cut
-1 stalk celery, roughly cut
-1.5 quarts of chicken stock
-1 bay leaf
-1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
-2 teaspoons chopped chives
-salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions-

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2.  Place the cut butternut squash in half lengthwise and place inside down on baking sheet in preheated oven     for 1 hour.

3. Heat the oil in a large 4 quart saucepan.  Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Stir in roasted squash, celery, chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes.

4.  Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf.  Blend the soup with a regular household blender until smooth.  Season with salt and white pepper.

Simple, healthy, low calorie, and absolutely delicious.  SERVE AND ENJOY!!!