Butternut Squash Soup

I've been on a huge soup kick this Fall, making a new batch almost weekly, which has made my meal planning a breeze. While most soups require a lot of chopping, the work quickly pays off when you have a week's worth of meals ready in just a few hours.  This soup tastes like Fall in a bowl, making it the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal and, despite all of the chopping, it's pretty easy to make and keeps well for up to a week in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium butternut squash
2 golden potatoes
2 granny smith apples
1 yellow onion 
2 stalks of celery
1 carrot
6 slices of bacon
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
salt to taste

1. Begin by halving the squash to remove the seeds. Peel and chop each half and set aside.

2. Clean, peel and chop the potatoes and apples; set aside.

3. Heat a large pot on medium heat and cook bacon until crisp. Set aside to cool.

4. While the bacon is cooking, roughly chop the onion, celery and carrot, adding it to the pot that was used to cook the bacon. Cook until the onion is translucent and vegetables are soft, adding the cinnamon at the end.

5. Add the squash, potatoes, apples, chicken stock and water to the pot. Season with salt and simmer until soft.

6. Once vegetables are soft enough to be pierced with a fork, puree in batches with a blender. (I used a standard blender, but an immersion blender can be used if you have one!)

7. Chop cooled bacon to serve as garnish. Additional chopped apples, pepitas, and sour cream also make great toppings. My soup is shown with a swirl of sour cream, bacon and pepitas.

Recipe adapted from a friend.