Photo Cred: www.aheadofthyme.com
Photo Credit: Aheadofthyme.com
Well… it looks like we’re gonna be stuck in the quarantine life for quite some time and I don’t know about you but the only thing keeping me sane being coped up inside my house for an unforeseen amount of reoccurring days is coming up with different things to eat. I mean, the ONE thing to spice up the same routine day after day right?
Well also the concern here is that I don’t wanna me devouring all unhealthy meals and gain the COVID-19 weight (twist on the “Freshmen 15”) so I’ve been trying to find yummy healthy meals that I can make along the way. So on today’s cooking adventures? BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP!
I looked up a LOT of different receipts to figure out the best and easiest way to make this, so here is the one I came up with and I’m proud to say it tasted bomb!
TOTAL COOKING TIME: 1.5 Hour
Serving Size: 3 Bowls (maybe it’s because I used a small butternut squash, but I’d recommend making double these ingredients to get a bigger bang for all the time you’re spending making this).
Ingredients:
1 Celery
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Butternut Squash
1 Sweet Potato
3 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin
1 tbsp Margarine or Butter
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Paprika (optional)
2 Cups of Water
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Directions:
1. Peel skin off sweet potato and butternut squash (after you’ve washed THOROUGHLY. During these times, make sure you do an extra wash… or 10 of all your veggies and ingredients to make sure it’s fully germ free).
2. Cut the squash in half and deseed. Then chop that and the sweet potato into small 1 inch squares.
3. Put them on a pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of salt and pepper and broil in the oven at 400 Degrees for 30 mins.
4. While that’s cooking, chop your onion, celery, carrot, and garlic cloves into small pieces. When that’s all done, put it on a pot on the stove with the butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Let that all simmer for 7-10 minutes. Add your cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika along with it and 2 tsp of salt and pepper.
5. Add 2 cups of water + your roasted squash and sweet potato into the mix and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Some ingredients say to use chicken or vegetable broth which you can do. But I wanted to keep it vegetarian + healthier. And the water worked out perfectly!
6. Once you feel like it’s cooked, transfer the mix over to the blender and puree it up until it’s fully blended. Depending on how much you’re making, you may have to do batches of the blending. I’d also recommend doing a test taste of the puree to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper to the mix.
And TA-DA, you’re done!
I’m added the pictures of my steps below because I know I like to see visuals.
Hit me up on instagram @elainechaya and let me know your chef adventures with this goes!
BUTTERNUT SQUASH + SWEET POTATO PORTION
ONION, CELERY, CARROT PORTION
PUREE TIME!
TA-DA! ( I added crushed red peppers cuz I like to make my food FIREEEE)
