Butternut Potato Soup

I love soups in the fall and winter!

I also love hiding secret nutrition in those soups.

My kids hate squash - all squash, but I love it.

I was planning to make potato soup last night, but at the last minute remembered I had some butternut squash that needed using.

I created something lovely!

And.................drum roll here.................the kids said it was better than my regular potato soup.

Until I dropped the bomb.

Chock full o' squash.

Here's what I did:

(and remember that these recipes feed 10)

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups uncooked, cubed butternut squash

5-6 peeled and cubed potatoes

1 c sliced carrots

4 chicken bouillon cubes

1/2 t red pepper flakes

water

1 can evaporated milk

3/4 c flour

1 t salt

pepper to taste

1/2 tsp thyme

1 t crushed rosemary leaves (or are they needles?)

4 T butter/margarine

Directions:

Place onion, garlic, squash, potatoes, carrots, bouillon, and red pepper flakes into a large pot.  Fill with just enough water to cover the ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly, but keep boiling until potatoes are softening (12-15 mins).  Pull out your potato masher and mash it in the pan until the squash is no longer recognizable.  (You could do this in a food processor or blender, but masher works fine for me and is easier to clean up.)  Remove from heat.

In a blender, combine milk, flour and salt and blend until flour lumps are gone.  Pour over the top of the soup.  Add pepper, thyme and rosemary and stir to combine.  Add butter/margarine and allow it to melt while you stir. If soup is too thick, you can add additional milk.

Serve as is, or garnish with cheese and crumbled bacon.