Butternut Squash Soup

The trees are vibrant shades of orange, yellow and reds.  The air is cool and crisp.  Autumn is here and it is magical.

This past month we have been taking in the beauty of fall- crunching through the leaves, sweater weather, hot coco... I love it all!  In addition, we have been tackling the baby's nursery (future posts to come about that) and dealing with our toddler's sleep regression.  UGH.  We've tried soothing efforts these previous six weeks, but with a baby coming soon we need to fix this.  Tonight we enter Day 3 of "Cry It Out."  It's brutal all around, but we've done this before successfully and sometimes you just gotta rip off the 'ole bandaid!  It's a battle of the wills and we need to win.  (I consulted with his paediatrician beforehand and she's supportive).  Parenting is not for the faint of heart!

On a happier note, here is a snapshot of the past month.

Anyways I digress... now that squashes are in season, I decided to whip up this yummy butternut squash soup.  It's nutritious, simple to make, and cost effective.  I'll definitely be making this again over the next few months.

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BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

PREP TIME:  30 MIN    |    TOTAL TIME:  1 HR

INGREDIENTS

• 2 TB butter

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1- 2 inch ginger grated

• 3 cloves garlic, diced

• 2 small butternut squash (approx. 2.75 lbs), peeled and diced

• 4 cups water

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• S&P to taste

• cream to drizzle

• parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS

• Melt butter in dutch oven

• Sauté onions

• Add garlic + ginger and cook until fragrant (1-2 minutes)

• Add squash and cook until tender (5-7 minutes)

• Add 4 cups of water and bring to boil

• Once boiling, turn low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

• Remove from heat

• Using immersion blender, blend until soup has smooth consistency

• Add orange juice, nutmeg + salt and pepper

• Drizzle cream and sprinkle parsley for garnish

• Serve warm

* Original recipe adapted from here.