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!

Weekend Comfort

This is one of my favorite meals to make as the weather starts to cool off.  The last of the sweet summer corn is combined with chunks of veggies, potatoes and shredded chicken in a comforting creamy broth, and of course topped with crunchy bits of bacon.  This is by no means a low calorie meal but I choose to believe it is healthy simply because it is a soup and all soups are healthy, right?  This soup packs a punch with heat from both fresh jalapeno and crushed red pepper flakes, as well as a smoky spice from chipotle seasoning (I chopped up a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce since this is what I had and it still added the same smoky flavor).  If you aren't a big fan of spice, you could easily leave these ingredients out but I recommend trying at least a little!   

  

Corn Chowder

from My Baking Addiction <- Yummy website!

Ingredients

5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning (or a chipotle chili in abobo sauce finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn (I used 6)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (rotisserie works great here)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

This recipe makes about 8 servings so we ate it for a few meals the week I made it and froze the rest for a quick, delicious meal some night when I don't feel like cooking.  Hope you enjoy!

What are your favorite soup recipes?  Please share in the comments.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!