Golden Butternut Squash Soup

I guess I've been on a soup kick lately but with the changing weather it just feels right.  In the past two weeks, I've made corn chowder, Greg made his famous chili (he's still deciding if he wants to share the recipe, har-umphh!), and last night I made this delicious butternut squash soup.  We originally had this soup a couple of years ago around Thanksgiving when we were back in Ohio.  We had driven all day and were told not to ruin our appetites with crappy fast food and we were oh-so-delightfully rewarded with this creamy soup, plus slices of toasted baguette with melted gruyere cheese on top.  I didn't have the ingredients for the bread component last night but I highly recommend doing it since it really completes the meal.  

Golden Butternut Squash Soup

from Cooking Light (recipe for toasts included in link)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
Chives for garnish, optional but delicious

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute.

Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally.

Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. (I used our immersion blender - if you like making soup these things are the bomb). 

Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.  Top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

 

On a side note, I joined Pinterest today and it is just as addicting as everyone said it would be!