Hearty Butternut Soup

Thank you to Linda for this post!

With a few hundred pounds of squash in our basement, we have tried many variations of butternut soup, many of which got poured down the drain. The taste just wasn't there or the texture was icky, to use the girls' words. Today, I finally found a variation we all liked.

Hearty Butternut Soup

2-3 pounds butternut squash
2 small onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon majoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth

1. Prepare butternut squash ahead of time by baking for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool. Then, peel and dice into chunks.
2. In a large saucepan, saute onions, carrots, and garlic in butter until onions are translucent.
3. Add flour, majoram, salt and pepper. Stir on medium-high heat for one minute.
4. Add milk, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in cubed, peeled squash.
6. Stir in chicken broth. Reduce heat to simmer.
7. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Hearty Butternut Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon

If you are looking for a new way to prepare Butternut squash that the whole family will love, here is a real winner. We cooked the butternut in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, to speed up the cooking. Then we finished it off in the oven. We didn't have the cheese to put on the top, but it still was awesome. Oh, yea the picture was the last half of the pan before we polished it off.

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• Cooking spray
• 6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.
• Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.
• Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.
• Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon