"This soup tastes like Christmas!", exclaimed our friend, as we sat down to dinner that night. I had made up an entire batch of the soup just that morning and now my husband and I watched, amused and slightly shocked, as our dinner guest proceeded to eat ALL of it. I'm not exaggerating. An amount that should have lasted a couple of days had been consumed in one meal.
"That is the best soup I have ever, ever had.", he said. And I sat there, experiencing a mixture of overwhelming pride in my work followed by the realization that my almost-two-hours worth of kitchen-slavery had been gulped down in less than twenty minutes. I felt like a little kid who told her friend, "Sure, I'll share my Snack Pack at lunch with you!" - only to find her friend has eaten the whole dang pudding cup! Do I revel in the joy I brought my friend or do I mourn the loss of my long-awaited treat? Catch-22, my friends, Catch-22...
The majority of recipes I'll share with you on this blog are meant to be easy-yet-healthy meals to fuel us Busy Girls and our families for our physical and emotional betterment.
HOWEVER, to be completely transparent, this soup is not healthy and it's actually kind of a pain in the butt to make.
So I treat it as one of those dishes that only gets made a few times a year. Like my aunt's amazing pumpkin cheesecake or my grandma's gooey cinnamon rolls, I keep this recipe on reserve for special occasions. Like when my husband has a friend over for dinner, and said friend eats me out of soup and home. (Okay, now I'm just being dramatic.)
Ingredients Needed:
*Serves four people OR one very impressed dinner guest!
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion, packed
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 quart (2 cups) half and half creamer
- 2 cups milk (1/2% used here but any is fine)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 to 4 cloves minced garlic (about 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice OR cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Since this is an emulsified soup, you really do need a hand blender. It's an awesome little tool that I use just a few times a year but was SO worth the less than $40 investment.
Start by removing the skin from the butternut squash with your veggie peeler. Be careful - the squash can get slippery as you go and it's so easy to take some of your own skin off right along with the squash rind.
Cut the squash up into a few smaller pieces that are easy to work with. Scoop out the seeds and innards and discard all those squishy, little bits.
Chop the squash up into small chunks and set aside for later.
Pre-heat your soup pot on medium-low heat and add to it your chopped onion, minced garlic, olive oil and an entire stick of butter (told you this soup wasn't healthy!) Let this cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently - try not to let anything get browned or it will add a funky flavor to your soup.
Add in the brown sugar, chopped squash and remaining spices. Fold all of these ingredients together thoroughly, reduce the heat to medium-low, place the lid on the pot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, again stirring frequently.
Keeping the heat at medium-low, add in the half and half creamer and milk. Put the lid back on and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, again stirring frequently.
Once cooked, remove the lid and allow contents of pot to thoroughly cool down. You're going to be using your hand blender next, you WILL splatter yourself with at least a little bit of this soup, and if you try to blend it while it's still boiling hot and it gets on your skin, your skin will bubble and peel off. Gross, huh?
Once the soup is cool and you're out of the danger zone, use your hand blender to emulsify everything together. I wait until the tip of the blender is fully submerged before turning it on, and try my best not to bring it up above the surface as I pulse through the liquid. You won't be able to 100% avoid splatter, but precautions and measures still can be taken to keep your shirt (and your walls) as soup-free as possible.
While this soup is great at any temperature, you'll want to serve it hot. Bring it back up to temperature slowly over medium-low heat stirring frequently to avoid scalding. #WhenInDoubtStirItOut
If you want to get really fancy-schmancy, serve the soup in pretty bowls and sprinkle a little cinnamon or nutmeg on top.
And be sure to remember my experience: If you want to impress the heck out of your friends, yet have zero soup leftover, then invite people over to share the deliciousness. But, if you want this soup all to yourself, tell no one of its existence - and maybe even lock the doors and close the curtains, just to be safe.
Have a recipe your loved ones can't get enough of?
I would love to hear about it!
Share your stories (and photos if you have them!) with me at
Email me! thatbusygirllife@gmail.com
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Blair Clark is a wife, teacher, dog-mother, mentor, wanna-be-chef, recipe collector, crafter, painter, novice photographer, thrifter, writer, marriage ministry leader, Sunday school teacher and blogger. In short, she's a busy girl! Blair lives and blogs from the suburbs of Detroit with her handsome hubby and perfect Chocolate lab.
Brought to you by That Busy Girl!
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