Let’s get real here. In some way, shape, or form I’ve been working in the food industry for the past 10 years. I’ve loved the jobs I’ve had, but being around food all day every day has definitely taken it’s toll on my once skinny little waist. Throw in a couple of pregnancies and an insatiable desire for late-night nacho feasting and I’ve found myself being not so fond of what’s going on down, around, and everywhere. The hubs hasn’t been too happy with his well-being either, so since it’s January and we should have at least 8 more days of motivation before February rolls in, we’re on a diet, er… conscious eating plan ( I hate the word diet. It makes it sound like I don’t get to eat, and that makes me mad). I tell you all of this because we’ve been following the Weight Watcher’s points plan and I’m going to start listing the point values at the bottom of each recipe. These calculations are the from the new-ish Points Plus program and I figure that if I’m calculating it all out anyways, I might as well let you in on it too!
Now, onto this soup! Oh, this soup! It’s filling, warm, contains BACON, and has very few points, even with the bacon! Think you can’t get your kids to eat it? Think again! My 5 yr. old saw me cutting up the squash as I was making this and frankly told me that she didn’t like squash and wouldn’t eat any. So being the cunning loving mother that I am, I sat down at the table, dished her up a bowl, and happily told her that we were having “Cheesy Sunshine Soup”. Totally worked! She finished off two bowls in no time flat. Try it!
This soup needs to be pureed and how you do it is up to you. I used a stick blender and really recommend that everyone has one in their kitchen arsenal, but you could easy pop it in the regular blender or food processor as well.
Ingredients
- 1 lg butternut squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
- 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (optional, but gives it just a little kick)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Toppings: Crumbled bacon, green onions, parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with either foil or parchment paper.
- Wash, peel, seed and chop your squash into about 1”cubes. Spread squash and 6 cloves of garlic (peeled and left whole) onto your baking sheeet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil and toss to coat. Place pan in oven for 35-45 minutes or until the edges of the squash have started to brown and it’s easily pierced with a fork.
- In a 3 qt. or larger pot place roasted squash and garlic, chicken stock, and evaporated milk and puree with a stick blender until smooth. (This is where you would put it in your blender or processor. Depending on the size of either appliance,you can add just enough chicken broth to theth and milk in the pot.) Depending on the size of the squash you may have to add more or less chicken broth to get it the consistency that you’d like. Heat thoroughly and add the chipotle chili powder and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Top with bacon, green onions, and Parmesan cheese.
Comments
I love squash soup and this one looks dee-licious! I can’t wait until Sally tells me it’s my turn to cook, so I can make it. Thanks, Heather!
That really is the perfect way to indulge in what you love – get enough to satisfy your taste buds and your craving, but not too much that you feel guilty about it. I like to put a little bacon in my breakfast scones for the same reason!
This looks so good! Love butternut squash soup and you can’t go wrong when you add bacon!
Bacon almost always makes soup letter! Love how bright and colorful the soup is too.
I think the color of the soup is my favorite part about it!
It’s so true, so true!
Hope it’s soon!
I’ve never used evaporated milk before… is it that sweet sticky stuff Winnie-the-Pooh eats? Do you use it instead of cream to make it lighter? This looks really tasty.i
The sticky-sweet canned milk you’re thinking of is sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is just a condensed version of milk that has about half of the water “evaporated”. I use it because it’s richer than regular milk, but still lighter than using cream or half and half. Hope that helps!
Ooh, love your idea to but bacon in scones!
I’ve been wanting to find new ways to use butternut squash and this looked fantastic, so I gave it a shot. This recipe totally delivered. It was simple and had tons of flavor. I substituted smoked paprika for the chipotle powder and a little light cream instead of the evaporated milk so I could use what was already in the fridge… I’ll be making this over and over. Thank you!
You bet! Glad it turned out well.