Simple and Delicious Butternut Squash Soup

I know it's not everyone's favorite food, but I LOVE SQUASH. It's delicious roasted; in lasagna; and especially amazing in soup!

It's been a while since we've had butternut squash soup - probably a good two years! I was so excited to see that my mom put together a fresh batch to share with us this past weekend. I had a bowl at her house and two bowls the next day; it didn't take long for me to realize the squash I purchased earlier in the week to roast was going to have to be soup instead.

My mom sent me the recipe she used from All Recipes; it was a GREAT version and I would totally have made it just like she did - except - I needed it to be less fuss.  I am not against fussy recipes, but today I probably could have taken a nap if I just blinked long enough. So tired.

I needed to make the soup plus another dinner for the rest of our family. So, here's what I did. It was an amazing and tasty alternative. I can't wait to finish off the leftovers tomorrow. Even my non-soup-eating husband enjoyed a serving of this recipe.

Here's the scoop (or would that be ladle?).

What you need:

• Butternut squash. I used 2lbs, pre-cut, from Costco. 
• 1 rib of celery, diced
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 handfuls of baby carrots.
• Sea salt and pepper to taste. Heavy on the pepper, if you please!
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1-1.5 cups of water

What you do: 

• In a skillet, sauté the celery and onion (seasoned with s&p) until translucent. 
• In a sauce pot, coat the squash and carrots with EVOO, salt, pepper and start sauteeing.
• Once all veggies are tender,  combine in sauce pot and add water. 
• After everything is broken down and flavors have combined, drain off any water that seems excessive (there may be none) and transfer soup to a blender to smooth out. 
• I used my Blend Tec 570 on a slow speed so I could watch the consistency as I went along.
• Transfer back to stock pot and serve or cool slightly and store for later. 

Also? Here's what I had for dessert. It's like a faux ice cream sundae. Ice cream cone, fruit and a few chocolate chips with a sugar cone on the side. It has many of the flavors you want, with less guilt. 

So, that's it for today! Hope you are brave enough to try this tasty soup. If you like potato soup, chances are you'll like this, too.

Good luck and comment with questions if you have any. :)

I'm not obsessed with Costco.

No, really. I'm not. I *do* mention it a lot on Facebook because, well, Costco is new to our area and inquiring minds want to know. I've been shopping at Costco for almost two years (thankful I no longer have to make a 40 min trek each way to do so). I've learned about many great products during that time and I try to share what I find and spread the good foodie news.

That is all.

Because we have a family of six (soon seven), I just take my grocery money straight to Costco each week and buy-big for a great value. I rarely go to other grocery stores now and usually end up spending less stocking up at Costco and the food usually lasts us more than one week because of quantity. I went this evening and stocked up on lots of fresh fruit; some frozen fruit; fresh veggies; eggs; cheese; chicken for my family; and...as one of my friends lovingly pointed out, on Instagram, bulk Oreos. They are for the kids, not me. I promise. I am totally grossed out by Oreos this pregnancy. Thanks, little baby. Looking out for mom already.

What are we going to do with all that food, you ask? Oh, I have plans for it....

• You'll note about 12 pounds of bananas up next to the eggs. Two of our children have been channeling Curious George and there's no limit to the number of bananas they put down in one day. I also usually have one per day in a smoothie and blend some into smoothies for the other kids as well. 
• Eggs. Our two-year-old begs for eggs (ooh, a rhyme) every day. So, we need to make sure we have plenty around. Also, if I'm out of ideas for dinner, eggs and waffles or pancakes it is. I keep the ginormous bag of Costco pancake mix on-hand for such desperate times. We also love hard-boiled eggs and egg breakfast sandwiches. I also love to scramble eggs and add them to rice and veggies, like we did this evening.
• Cutie oranges, strawberries, and grapefruit are all for snacking. 
• I have a couple big bags of frozen fruit in there - pretty much just for blending with spinach and coconut water. 
• Lemons - for enhancing water or smoothies.
• Broccoli and mushrooms - for endless things. Crustless quiche, roasting, stir-fry, rice casserole, etc.
• Onions - I love to have a big bag of onions on-hand because...well...it's hard for me to imagine most dinners without the taste and smell of onion included.
• Cheese - grilled cheese, of course! The kids love it and it's a quick and easy lunch for them (and me) to put together. It's also great for a quick snack if someone is losing their blood sugar and starting to get grouchy. 
• Ginormous bottle of vinegar - cleaning the house, making buttermilk and dressing salads! :) 
• Sweet Kale Salad - so, so delicious
• Rotisserie chicken - part of tomorrow's dinner! I have no idea what the other part is yet...

Yum, yum, yum. I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and start blending and cooking some of these delicious Costco finds. 

I plan to make some chocolate almond butter as well, so look for a post on that. :)

But first? Coffee. 

Hope you all have a lovely week and eat some great and healthy meals!