it's me: Got Squash?

I promised a recipe for Butternut Squash Soup and here it is! Actually the correct name for this recipe is...Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Wild Rice Soup.

Tatum and Lane prepared this soup for us on our last Monday cooking day.

The kitchen walls were very fallish and when Tatum and Stacy arrived we added our menu for the day.

So here is what you need to gather up for this recipe:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds butternut squash, cut in half, seeds and strings removed
2 T olive oil
3 quarts or 12 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup wild rice (the one we used was a white and wild mix)
3/4 pound kielbasa or other smoked sausage cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups of half and half
2 T minced fresh flat leaf parsley

We let our kitchen gnome help with the gathering...

The squash has to be prepared (this is a part of the process that makes you feel so good.....you are taking this funny squash thing and turning it into a delicious meal!)

So you cut the squash in half and Ta Da you find this gorgeous colour awaiting you...

you need to scoop out the little section of seeds - they come our very easily...

next you want to pour a little olive oil in the butternut and rub it into the pulpy part.

By the way - we saved the seeds to plant in the garden...I'll let you know how that turns out ( like if I even get the garden planted or not!?)

The squash gets cooked pulp side down in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until you can easily push a fork through the skin.

It will come out of the oven looking beautiful like this....and...

when it is cool enough to handle - scoop the pulp out with a spoon and put it into the blender.

Add 2 cups of your chicken broth and puree. I am thinking...that this part could be done ahead and you could have this in the frig waiting for you...or you could just get the squash part all done...

That is really the most time consuming part of this recipe - after this it's all downhill...

Well, except for chopping your onions - as you can see this can be difficult...

and here's the rest of the recipe:

Bring 4 cups of the stock and 1/2 cup of the chopped onions to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the wild rice. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook til rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 45 minutes to an hour. Set this aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 T of oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook just til browned, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of onions, the corn, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, til the onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 6 cups of stock and the squash puree and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the rice and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the half and half and parsley.

TA Da -------- Butternut Squash Soup!

Be sure you get that broth measured just right....

and you should always have a casual approach to your cooking. Just go ahead and lean back and stir away!

Enlist a friend to help...

it's much more fun that way!

It is really a beautiful soup - and the flavor and texture is unbelievable...be sure and try it.

After watching the girlies make their soup - I decided to make it for a little dinner party that I had.

I made a centerpiece...

set the table...

Just a note...I made my soup vegetarian style for this dinner - I left out the sausage and added about 4 good sized cloves of garlic minced, tasted great!

made some French loaves and my own pot of Butternut Squash soup! Now, mind you...my girlies were gone this weekend ...and I have to say....it is much easier to put on a dinner party when they are here!

But, I did it (Brian helped me so much by doing a whole lot of chores for me!) and we finished off the evening with fancy coffees and my easy shortbread that you can find here - at the end of the book club blog..