Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Oh, how I love butternut squash. I love it mashed, with pasta, on pizza, and roasted in the oven. I really love butternut squash soup, but you need a food processor to make it, and I am without. Or should I say, I was without, until I saw that I could use some of my credit card reward points to get the 7 cup Cuisinart food processor that I wanted! So I immediately ordered it, and as I waited for it to arrive I started looking up recipes for butternut squash soup.

Finally my long awaited food processor arrived! Actually, it wasn't long awaited, I think it arrived within 3 days of ordering it!

But now I had a dilemma...all of the recipes I selected looked so good...I didn't know which one to use! After reading through them all about 5 times, I ended up using some elements I liked from each and making my own version of the soup. Mmm I'm glad I did, because it is absolutely delicious!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Start by peeling your squash. Whenever Pat is around I give him the fun job of peeling, so thank you Pat!

Cut squash into cubes, removing seeds in middle, and put in a large mixing bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and whatever spices you like. I used red chili powder, green chili powder, paprika, pepper, and a little bit of salt. After tossing the squash with oil and spices to evenly coat, transfer to a glass oven dish. Add 1 cup of chicken broth to the pan.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until squash feels pretty tender.

When the squash is getting close to being done, prepare the onion:  first chop, then saute on medium in a large pot using 1 1/2 tablespoons butter.

When the squash is done, transfer squash and all liquid from roasting pan into the large pot of onions. Add 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup apple juice and more fresh ground pepper. Cook on medium-low for 20 minutes.

Then transfer contents of pot to the food processor, and puree until it reaches your desired consistency.

Now its time to enjoy some delicious roasted butternut squash soup!

I had this with a glass of B.R. COHN Zinfandel, which I bought in Sonoma, California.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash (about 3 pounds), peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth (I used fat free, 50% less sodium)
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• Spices (I used red and green chili powders, paprika, salt and pepper)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, seed and cube your butternut squash. In a bowl, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, paprika, green chili powder, red chili powder, salt and pepper. Transfer contents of bowl to a large glass oven pan (lasagna sized). Add 1 cup chicken broth, and put in oven to roast for 30-35 minutes.

2. Chop onion and saute in 1 1/2 tbsp butter until translucent (saute in large pot that will fit all contents of soup).

3. When squash is done roasting, transfer squash and liquid from pan to the large pot with onions. Add 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup apple juice and more fresh ground pepper. Cook on medium-low for 20 minutes.

4. Put entire contents of pot into food processor (it just barely fits in a 7 cup food processor). Puree until smooth, or desired consistency. Serve hot and enjoy!

This was sooo good. Totally worth ordering a food processor for! It had a hint of spiciness, just a little bit of warmth...yum!