A Taste of Fall

We are lucky to be living in an area where there are many farms and so that means lots of fresh, local vegetables and fruits throughout the Summer and into the Fall.  The squashes are lovely right now... butternut is my very favorite so I couldn't resit making up a batch of soup for lunch today.

I love everything about this soup... the beautiful golden color, the creamy and thick texture, the aroma of the spices and garlic, and of course the wonderful flavor!

I used my basic vegetable soup method and it all came together pretty quickly.  If you have chicken broth or even vegetable broth, go ahead and use it in place of the flavor cube and water.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Makes 6 servings about 1 generous cup each

• 2 tsp canola-olive oil blend
• broth made from 1 chicken flavor cube dissolved in 4 cups hot water
• 6 cups butternut squash, roughly cut into 1" cubes
• 2 cups carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• dash of cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste 

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-low heat and sauté onion and garlic until softened.
2. Stir in ginger and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add carrots, squash and broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and when cooled, blend until smooth with immersion blender.
5. To serve, reheat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Garnish with a dollop of fat free sour cream or plain yogurt.

Per serving, not including garnish.
Weight Watchers P+ = 3.
Calories 109; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 23g; Fat 2g; Fibre 5g.

Note:
This combination of veggies is also very good made with a tomato-chicken flavor cube. 
It is also nice with a dash of nutmeg or cumin as well.
The leftovers can be frozen, and of course you can change the proportions for any number of servings you need.

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds from the cavity, and then peel it.

Cut it into chunks roughly about an inch square.

Ater the veggies have simmered in the broth for about half an hour, leave to cool before pureeing the mixture.

Spoon into serving dishes and season with salt and pepper.

With a bit of fat free sour cream stirred in.

Printable Recipe