Roast Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup ~ Mid Week Munchies

On New Years Eve, it was freezing...like 17 degrees freezing. So we decided to stay in. We had dinner about 9:30 p.m. played a few games and then the kids went out and braved the cold to do a little car sledding.

The menu for New Years was a-ma-zing-ly delicious. My sister and I made a variation on Red Pepper Soup {we added butternut squash} parmesan rolls, cold roast beef, chips and dip, sweets, treats and candy galore. The soup turned out so out of this world, I had to share. Disclaimer: I was originally given this recipe from my dear friend Ella, the squash, cream, cheese and a few proportions changes are my personal variations.

Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup

2-3 Red Peppers
1 medium Butternut Squash
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons flour
4 cans of chicken broth
3/4 cup of cream
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

#1 Roast Peppers and Squash

Set oven to 450 degrees. Line your cookie sheet with tin foil. The pepper juice for some reason is really tricky to scrub off your pan. Lining with tin foil eliminates that problem.

Clean, cut, scrap and place. I roast the peppers and squash together. The peppers roast at 500 degrees and take about 15-20 minutes. After roasting, immediately place peppers in a paper bag, seal top and set aside. (For wonderful step-by-step directions visit Tammy's blog) The peppers steam in the paper bag and the skins are easy to remove. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the squash for another 20 minutes or until tender, check with a toothpick. While squash is roasting add a dollop of butter and salt and pepper.

#2 In your Stock Pot

In your stock pot, saute 2 cloves of garlic and half an onion chopped/minced with 1/2 cube of butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour to make a paste. Add 4 cans (14.5 oz.) of chicken broth. Allow broth to come to a simmer and allow flour paste to dissolve.

#3 Peppers and Blending

Remove skins from peppers. Peppers should be flimsy, slippery and soft when skins are removed. Cut skinny lengthwise slices and add to broth. Pour entire soup into blender and blend until smooth. About 2 minutes. 

#4 Finishing Touches

Pour soup back into stock pot and simmer. Add 3/4 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Add cubed chunks of squash to soup by hand (approx. 2 cups), Simmer for 30 minutes on low heat and allow soup to thicken.

Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and Enjoy. The perfect soup on a cold winters day!

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I love this soup. It is perfect in the winter when the sun goes does at 5 o'clock. It is creamy and chunky and taste even better the next day. The leeks add an extra "something" you just don't get in your everyday cooking!! Enjoy.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup:

1 bunch of Leeks (thinly sliced, using only the white part)

6-8 medium potatoes (peeled, and chopped)

1/2 cube of butter

~ Saute for 15 minutes on low heat 

Add:

3 cans of chicken broth (16 oz. cans)

1 ham bone

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup of diced ham

Salt, Pepper, Parsley to taste

In your stock pot combine: butter, leeks and potatoes. Allow to saute on low for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Add: chicken broth, cream, milk and ham bone. Having a ham bone to add makes the soup taste exponentially better, in fact, I only make it when I have a ham bone.** Simmer on low for 45 minutes until serving time. I've had my simmer for up to 2 hours, if soup is getting too thick while simmering you can always add more milk. Before serving remove ham bone and add ham, salt, pepper and parsley to taste.

**Ham Bone: I will typically buy a bone-in ham from Costco, cook it and then save my ham bone for this soup to make during the coming week.

Don't forget to add your favorite rolls to dinner. Rhodes Rolls are always my go-to rolls at dinner time.