Sweet & Savory Butternut Squash Soup

I have been wanting to make my own butternut squash soup ever since Adam & I had some last winter at our favorite restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado called Hearthstone (so good!!). So, I went searching for a recipe, since it’s now that time of year for butternut squash. I concocted this recipe out of one that I found on allrecipes.com, some of the notes in the comments, and I added in a couple of things myself. Wow! This soup was so delicious! Just the right balance of sweet & savory. This soup is perfect for a fall evening. I paired it with chicken paninis, which I will post later. This soup makes a lot, so it would be great for a crowd, or just for 2 and have leftovers for a few days. I’m sure you could even freeze it. I topped mine with candied pecans which added a nice sweet crunch. This did take a little while to make, but it was so worth it. Hope you enjoy!

Sweet & Savory Butternut Squash Soup
Source: adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 butternut squash, peeled & cubed
4 tbsp. light margarine
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled & chopped
3 cups chicken stock (you can sub one of the cups with 1 cup apple cider if desired)
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. apple pie spice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. skim milk
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) container fat free cream cheese
salt, pepper & 1/4 tsp. garlic powder for roasting squash

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut each squash in half, cut off the skin & cut each squash into 8 equal pieces.
3. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and place squash pieces on baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast in the oven for one hour.
4. Remove squash from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes. Cut squash into 1 in. cubes.
5. In a large sauce pan, saute onions and apple in the margarine until tender. Add squash, chicken stock, nutmeg, apple pie spice, cinnamon, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper & milk.
Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until squash is tender.
6. Puree squash and cream cheese in blender or food processor in batches until smooth. It will take about 2-3 batches. Be sure and take the inside center lid of the blender out to let it breath and cover with a towel.
7. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not allow to boil.
8. Serve and top with candied pecans if desired (directions below).