Exceedingly Mundane

I was in the kitchen a lot on Monday, and will be again on Wednesday. I hope to stay out of it some today! 🙂

Monday, I made a new recipe for a crockpot Butternut Squash soup. It received mixed reviews at our house. (BTW, I’ll post the recipe on the extended entry, in case you are interested.) 🙂 It was a really good soup, but it was just a pureed soup that I served with a salad and bread. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough for Tim, and I was right. He commented that the soup was good, but “it needs some kind of meat” 😀 He had to have a really big salad, with lots of “crunchies” in it, to offset the pureed soup. He kept telling me that the soup was good, and he was really glad I tried new things, but that it was a “texture” thing for him. I really liked the soup, and that was enough for me with bread. It had a really good, rich flavor, I’m assuming from the butternut squash. This was my first time to ever buy and use butternut squash, much less taste it. The only thing I would do differently is maybe use a little less cream cheese, as it was a really rich and thick soup.

Here’s what mine looked like, I toasted some walnuts to serve on top:

If I was a really ambitious cook, I might make this again, and then have it as a first course to a “regular” meal that includes meat, for Tim. But, unfortunately, I’m not that kind of cook. I make soups and stews this time of year as the main course, the entree, not as a starter. Too much work for me for just one course!

If you want to check out the recipe (it really is a good soup!), it’s on the extended page. Just click to see…

* Exported from MasterCook *

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

Recipe By :Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook, page 91
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Crockpot Soups

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium onion (about 1/2 cup) — chopped
1 2 lb butternut squash — peeled and cubed
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 extra-large vegetarian vegetable bouillon cubes
1 8 oz package cream cheese — cubed

In a 10 inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.

In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, mix onion and remaining ingredients, except cream cheese.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

In a blender or food processor, place one-third to one-half of the soup mixture at a time. Cover; blend on high speed until smooth. Return mixture to slow cooker. Using a wire whisk, stir in cream cheese. Cover, cook on Low setting about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally with wire whisk, until cheese is melted and soup is smooth.

NOTE: This wonderfully rich and flavorful soup became a staff favorite while being tested in our kitchens. Sprinkle with chopped toasted walnuts, pecans or pumpkin seeds, and pair with an artisinal bread and a salad of mixed baby greens.

NOTE: For easier peeling, place whole butternut squash in microwave oven. Microwave on High 2-4 minutes or until tip of knife can pierce skin easily. Cool slightly before peeling.

Stacy’s Notes – Made Nov 2006. Pretty good, but probably won’t make again. I used a 2 lb butternut squash (which needed to be microwaved to get it soft enough to peel and cut, and remove the seeds and fibers). Used everything else as specified, but if I ever made it again, I would probably use a little less cream cheese. Maybe 6 oz instead of 8 oz. It was very rich and creamy and thick, almost too thick. I toasted walnuts to put on top and they were good with the soup. Tim commented that it was good, but it “needed meat”. He needed more than this and a salad and bread, so I probably won’t make it again. 🙂