Butternut Squash Soup

I've been promising to post this recipe for several months now, so thank you to each of you for your patience. This recipe is well worth it!

I first made this in the springtime. While I loved it, I mentally bookmarked it for a fall/winter soup because it's just one of those "warming" soups (kind of like the curried zucchini soup from earlier this month). So, as the weather has gotten colder, I've been thinking about this soup like a kid anticipating Christmas morning!

I love easy recipes. Furthermore, I love easy recipes that are tasty enough to impress even the most snobby of foodies. Thus...I'm excited to share this one with you.

What you need:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1t. ground dry sage)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups fat-free chicken broth (I almost always use more than this...my rule of thumb is making sure the squash is covered in my pot while simmering. You can easily adjust the consistency of this soup based on how much broth you use. More=thin, less=thick.)
• 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cubed)
• parmesan cheese (to garnish...this is important!)
  

Start by peeling, seeding and cubing your squash. This is definitely the "hardest" (read: most time-consuming) part, so once your squash looks like this, you're home free!

Add oil, garlic and onion to large stockpot over medium heat. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Add sage, salt, pepper, broth and squash. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes (or until squash has a tender consistency).

Use an immersion blender to lightly puree, leaving some chunks, or puree half of the soup in a food processor or blender and return to pot (just like we did for the curried zucchini soup).
Garnish with parmesan cheese and more fresh sage (if desired). You're done!