Hey everyone, hope this week is treating you all well. Yesterday I took the boys to their first Disneyland Day since we’ve been here in CA and it was well, interesting. The cool thing was that we basically walked right on the rides, which NEVER happens, however it was pretty rainy for about half the time. I think I’d rather deal with the rain than the hundreds of thousands of people though. We had a great time, I just need to remind my children that they do not get toys every time we visit or Mom goes broke!
Here’s that soup I was talking about in the last post. It is warm, hearty, packed full of vegetables and just perfect. I LOVE a good baked potato soup and this time I added roasted butternut squash. Wait until you try it, you are going to love it!
2 lbs cubed butternut squash (you can buy this already cut for you in the produce dept)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley
5 lbs baby red potatoes, cut into fourths (I left the skin on)
5 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley
1 1/2 Cups milk
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of celery, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced (optional, but so good)
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 oz diced pancetta
4 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 Cup shredded Asiago Cheese (you can also use Parmesan)
1 1/2- 2 1/2 Cups milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place butternut squash onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Use hands to coat all ingredients together. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and fork tender. Remove.
2. Place potatoes into a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. Remove and transfer to a stand or electric mixer. Mix on slow until smashed, then add butter, salt, pepper, garlic salt and milk.
3. Place olive oil into a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in celery, carrots, fennel, onion and red bell pepper. Add pancetta to vegetables as well. Cook and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened and pancetta is browned. Sprinkle in flour and stir, will be thick. Slowly add in chicken broth and increase heat slightly; cook until hot and thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in mashed potatoes in batches. Stir in Asiago cheese until melted. At this point add additional milk until it is your desired consistency. I like my soup pretty thick, so I add less milk, but it is completely up to you. Right before serving, stir in roasted butternut squash. Enjoy.
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I wasn’t very good about taking pictures yesterday because of the rain, but here is my little guy who got chosen for the jedi training. It was so cute, he loved it and got to fight the bad guys. Below is my little stinker sitting with me trying to knock the camera out of my hand while taking pictures of brother!
Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Potato and Asiago Soup
Ingredients
For the Butternut Squash
- 2 pounds butternut squash (you can buy this already cut for you in the produce department)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Lawry's garlic salt with parsley
For the Potatoes
- 5 pounds baby red potatoes cut into fourths (I left the skin on)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon Lawry's garlic salt with parsley
- 1 ½ cups milk
For the Soup
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch of celery diced
- 4 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 medium fennel bulb thinly sliced (optional, but so good)
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- 4 ounces diced pancetta
- 4 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 42 ounces chicken broth (I used 3 14-ounce cans)
- 1 cup shredded asiago cheese you can also use parmesan
- 1½-2½ cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place butternut squash onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Use hands to coat all ingredients together. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and fork tender. Remove.
- Place potatoes into a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. Remove and transfer to a stand or electric mixer. Mix on slow until smashed, then add butter, salt, pepper, garlic salt and milk.
- Place olive oil into a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in celery, carrots, fennel, onion and red bell pepper. Add pancetta to vegetables as well. Cook and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened and pancetta is browned.
- Sprinkle in flour and stir, will be thick. Slowly add in chicken broth and increase heat slightly; cook until hot and thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in mashed potatoes in batches. Stir in Asiago cheese until melted. At this point add additional milk until it is your desired consistency. I like my soup pretty thick, so I add less milk, but it is completely up to you. Right before serving, stir in roasted butternut squash. Enjoy.