Monday Munchies: Butternut Squash Soup

One of the things that I enjoy about my cooking is my ability to re-purpose leftovers in a way that my family will eat them.  My family is not a family that enjoys leftovers.  Other than pizza, they would all be happy never to have a second helping of a meal, especially if it is served a day or two later.  Dealing with that pickiness requires patience and creativity on my part. 

Right now, my refrigerator is full to overflowing.  My goal with dinner tonight is to use what I have on hand to create a meal that is new and appealing to the majority of my family.  I have half a loaf of multi-grain bread in the pantry.  I also have a variety of antipasto treats; pepperocini, salami, olives, roasted red peppers.  That makes a good starter. 

I don't have enough meat of one kind to reserve but I do have six cups of chicken broth that I made from last week's beer butt chicken.  I also have about 8 dozen eggs.  We had quiche yesterday for breakfast so no one is really interested in more eggs for dinner tonight.  I also have six cups of roasted butternut squash from dinner last week.

A quick search on allrecipes.com and I have this recipe for Butternut Squash Soup.


As you know, I can't leave well-enough alone so I am changing a few things.  Here is my recipe for Butternut Squash Soup:

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons margarine
6 cups peeled and cubed, roasted butternut squash
4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese or Neufchatel

In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender.
Using a blender puree squash with 1/2 to 1 c of chicken broth and cubed Neufchatel.  This took me two batches.
Add remaining chicken broth to sauted onion.  Stir in blended squash and cheese mixture.
Add marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper to soup and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

I have been warming my soup for about an hour on the stovetop to allow the flavors time to meld and Rob time to get home from the gym.  I am pretty sure dinner will be a hit tonight.  The best part is that I've gotten three plastic containers out of my refrigerator.  It's nice to be able to open and close the door without fear of an avalanche.

Follow up:  The soup was a hit with six out of seven diners.  I doubt it will be a regular feature on our menu but it was a delicious way to use the butternut squash and an easy, different recipe to pull out every now and then.