Butternut Squash Soup - Using the Slow cooker overnight.

December. Already.

It arrived faster than I expected. Now that Thanksgiving is over the days will fly by as Christmas approaches. We have two pay checks before then but as I said previously, we only get gifts for the kids. Thanksgiving wasn't a crazy affair. It was actually calm which is great.

You never know how things may go when you get a mix of folks with different perspectives on religion and politics.  Many  TV holiday specials have been made about families bickering over those topics or wondering when someone will get married or when grandchildren will be produced.  You know.......it makes for funny viewing or reading but not great if you are in the thick of it.  Ours was uneventful and filled with lots of good healthy dishes and casseroles.

Which brings me to the butternut squash soup. It was served during dinner and it was delicious.  This led me to duplicate it with a few edits in my cooking method. (recipe will follow)

As  a side note to the soup, check out my Thanksgiving plate with roasted vegetables, homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing and fresh citrus.  This was so good.



Now this bowl of soup is a more presentable photo as the one I prepared was served in a plastic bowl.  We take lunch to work and use the most convenient serving methods possible   This does not lead to lovely photos.  This photo is from the T-day dinner.

 

As an amusing side story let me share that I planned to make this soup in the slow cooker a few evenings ago.  I thought it would cook and finish before we went to bed. Nope........it needed to slow cook for about 6 hours which ruined my plan. I was disappointed.

Well as luck would have it I had an amazing amount of energy and inspiration to cook and bake one evening recently.  I made our dinner, baked a loaf of French bread, roasted chicken wings (for the kids) and chopped veggies for a casserole I was going to make the next evening.  I was on fire! It hit me then that the soup could slow cook while we slept.  Alright!!!! 

The only weird thing was I awoke at 3 a.m. and could smell that soup - the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and broth and nutmeg wafting up to the bedroom.  Then I started wondering if I put enough broth in the crock.  I didn't want it to dry up so I crept downstairs and hovered over the clear lid shining my flashlight beam into the crock.  It looked ok, but I still stirred it just in case.  It turned out well but I need to use more broth next time.

The recipe I wanted to share was adapted per taste and we left out the curry. There was curry in the one we ate previously and I think it overpowered the taste of the butternut.


 Butternut Squash Soup 

 1 cup onion, chopped
 1 (3 lb.) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
 3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable per your taste)
 1 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, ground coriander and cinnamon

Method

In a large skillet cook the onions until transparent. Place them in the slow cooker.

Add the other ingredients and cover. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. After that length of time you can tip some or all into a food processor if you want the soup to be smooth and not chunky.

 I used the immersion blender being very careful of the blades during clean up. I don't want a repeat of the previous time when I cleaned it and just about cut my fingertip off.

It was smooth and I have to say, a good cool weather soup.  Served with a baguette, this was a great lunch.


 Linking up with Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday series. The linkup for this week may be found HERE