Roasted butternut squash soup - creamy-licious!

I have the most amazing in-laws a girl could ask for.
Seriously - I'm not just saying that because my MIL reads this blog.

They never give unsolicited advice, never judge, never leave me out - they are nothing but loving and supportive.

BUT they do plant like they are going to feed a small town.

Their garden is always full to the brim with every vegetable imaginable…. even ones they don't eat.

Every year we get at least one or two bags of onions, cucumbers and potatoes.  They plant a lot more, but we don't eat very many vegetables in this house.

This year they had over 40 large butternut squash - something I haven't eaten in years.
Turns out it's something they don't eat either.

They very kindly offered, and I accepted the challenge!

How can I make this taste GOOD so that we will actually eat something out of a garden (versus grazing in one).

Creamy butternut squash soup.

You had me at creamy.

You will need:

• 3 small onions
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 2 cartons chicken broth (not cans, the large 1 litre/quart cartons)
• 12 cups cubed butternut squash (in our case that was 2 large squash)
• carrot(s) optional
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 (8oz) packages of cream cheese.

This is a LARGE recipe - so feel free to cut it down.
I was a bit shocked just how far two squash would go - and I still have two more to use up! (Yikes!)

Directions:

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Put on a cookie sheet and cover loosely with tin foil.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or soup pot, add the butter and diced onions.  Saute until tender.

Once the squash is done cooking, peel and cube it then add it to the sautéed onions.

Add the chicken stock, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  If choosing to add carrots, chop and add now.

I just added one carrot….
because it was the size of my hand!

Bring all ingredients to a boil and then cook on medium for about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully puree the soup in a food processor or blender.

(If the soup seems too thick, add water or more chicken stock.)

Add cream cheese (cubed) and return to the saucepan to warm - but do not let it boil.

Once all the cream cheese is melted, I just beat it with a hand mixer to make sure it was smooth.

You are done!

Rich, creamy, hearty - just barely tastes like squash at all! lol

This recipe made quite a batch - but it's going to be a long winter, so these will come in handy.

Makes about 14 servings.

  Have a great one!
  
 

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