The perfect remedy for a rainy day
When the calendar turns to November and the temperatures drops all I want to do is stay inside with a warm cup of tea under some blankets reading a book. I definitely don’t want to go outside in the wet and rainy (and possibly snowy) weather to go to work. Brrr. I have found that having a warm, tasty dinner prepared helps me get through those dark and dreary days. In the fall and winter I turn on my crockpot before I leave the house so that I have a tasty and warm meal waiting for me when I get home. And nothing helps beat the cold temperatures than a good soup. My favourite soup for this time of year is a butternut squash soup. It is full of brightly coloured vegetables and warming spices which makes it the perfect pick-me-up on a cold day.
Eating a variety of colour foods on a regular basis will give you all the antioxidants your body needs!
This recipe is one of my go to recipes every winter. It is super simple and easy to make in a crockpot or a dutch oven. I usually cook it in a crockpot because I can prepare it in the morning (or the night before) and turn it on low when I leave to go to work. When I come home the soup will be done and the house will smell like soup! If I am in a rush I will put it in the dutch oven for a couple hours instead. This recipe would work well in an Instapot, however, I have not tried it. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
Another reason why I love this soup is because it is so versatile. One time I will put carrots in with a sweet potato, the next time I will put celery and carrots in. I love how much you can play around with the ingredient while still getting a tasty soup that is full of vitamins and antioxidants.
I hope you and your family enjoy this soup as much as I do!
Butternut squash soup
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 6-8 hours in a crockpot or 3 hours in a dutch oven
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (you can opt for fresh or frozen)
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 2-3 stalks of celery
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 golden delicious apple (you can use whichever apple variety you like, but I recommend a sweeter apple because the sweet taste compliments the cayenne pepper)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (or to taste)
- A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- ¼-½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ ground nutmeg
- 1 L vegetable stock
- Optional: thyme, and/or rosemary (to taste)
- Garnishes: smoked paprika, green onion, black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the butternut squash, apple, carrots, onion, and garlic
- Roughly dice the butternut squash, apple, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic
- Combine all of the ingredients (minus the coconut milk) in your pot. I added enough vegetable stock to just cover all of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours in your crockpot or for 3 hours in your dutch oven.
- Blend the ingredients until smooth. This is easiest with an immersion blender, but a traditional blender will work just fine.
- Taste. Add more of the spices and garnishes too taste
- To add protein: cook 2 chicken breasts separately, shred them and add them to the finished soup.
- To make it creamier: add coconut milk (from a can) or a heavy cream to the finished soup
- Enjoy!
Yours in health,
