Better Than Ice Cream Butternut Squash Soup

I LOVE butternut squash! I have cooked it many different ways but I've found the easiest way to prepare it is to peel it first. And then steam it in Ziplock Steamer bags. If you don't like microwaving it, that's ok, you can spend 45 minutes waiting for this deliciousness to cook in the oven. Sorry, but I can't wait that long. Once I peel it I cut it in half lengthwise and take the seeds out. The ball or bowl part (bottom) of the squash where the seeds are always has stringy stuff in it after you take the seeds out. It is edible so I hate just throwing that part away or spending time trying to cut it out. So I cut the part where the seeds were away from the long straight part. My son wanted some in his lunch today so I figured last night I would save the long straight part for him. I would just use the other part for soup. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of this but I put one straight part and one of the bowl parts in the steamer bag with 2 tablespoons of water and steam it in the microwave for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Your time may vary. I usually get the butternut squash that are medium size. I don't like the big huge ones cause when they are cut this way they don't fit in the steamer bag. Why go to the expense of cutting them into more pieces than you really need. Plus I'm not the greatest with knives. If they are too big then they are harder for me to cut in half in the first place.
     

After the first round of steaming I take those out and put my other two pieces in and add 1 tablespoon of water since there is some leftover from the previous steam. While these are cooking I can lay the hot pieces on a plate to cool. I do cut these parts into smaller pieces because that allows them to cool faster. Last night I immediately put the cubes from the straight stalk part of the squash in a bowl for the fridge since they would be going into my son's lunch the next morning. Also, you can reuse your steamer bags till you feel that they need to be tossed. I just wash with a drop of dish washing soap, rinse thoroughly and then leave to air dry.

After the second round cooled I put the stringy bowl parts that were cut into smaller pieces in the blender.

I ran across some of this at the store last night and had read somewhere that someone preferred this brand for cooking because they felt it just made for better results. It was on sale for $1.99 so I picked one up. I like the fact that it has a cap and is easy to poor. It is very smooth without a lot of added ingredients. Some coconut milks in the can add a lot of stuff I don't know what for, but I try to avoid these.



I added about a 1/2 tsp of turmeric (why? I don't know my sister told me that's how she did it...LOL) and a 1/4 cup of the lite culinary coconut milk and 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I blended it together in my Blendtec and then added hot water for a the consistency I wanted.

This was by far the best butternut squash soup I have ever made! You can fiddle with the amounts or with the milks you use, if any. Always start out with less liquid and then add more, depending on how much squash you have and how thick you want the soup.

Why I shared with my husband is beyond me, but I gave him a little because it was filling up my soup bowl and looked like too much for me to eat. He said it tasted more like a dessert than a soup.

I could seriously have this every night! It's sooooooo good and sooooooo easy! And, no added sugar, salt or oil! It can't get much better than that.



Better Than Ice Cream Butternut Squash Soup

1/2 of a whole butternut squash, peeled and cooked then cut into cubes and slightly cooled
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup or less SO Delicious Culinary Lite Coconut Milk
1/4 cup or less Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Blend
Add hot water to the consistency of your liking

Serve hot/warm and enjoy slowly because its gone before you know it :)