Hearty Butternut Squash Soup

Wowy Zowy...The girls and I fell head over heals in love tonight with this yummy soup (although I suspect Anna was mostly loving with the bacon crumbles).  The butternut squash was out of our garden!  Can you believe it?  I am truly amazed at what goodness came out of our garden this year.  Anyhow, this recipe is definitely a savory soup using the butternut squash.  This is a picture of the tiny little bit that we had left over.  Look below for the recipe...

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs)

3 TB butter

1 med leek or sweet onion, chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 (14 oz) cans of chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Toppings: bacon crumbles, sour cream, fresh thyme

Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds.  Place squash, cut sides down, in a microwave-safe dish.  Microwave at HIGH 7-10 minutes or until tender; cool.  Scoop out pulp, discarding shells.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium hear; add leek/onion and thyme.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until caramel-colored and tender.  Add squash pulp and chicken broth; bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from heat; cool.

Process squash mixture in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.  Return to Dutch over; stir in salt and pepper.  Cook 5 mintues or until thoroughly heated.  Serve with bacon and sour creams.  Garnish if desired.

**This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks!!  The funny thing is Kate wanted to buy this cookbook for my mom a few years ago while I was still working.  Guess where it was we went very often for dinner???  Anyhow, after I resigned to stay home, I asked my mom if I could borrow the cookbook.  Yep...I haven't given it back!  Sooooo many super yummy and easy recipes!!

Click here to link to Amazon to check it out for yourself.