Bacon Squash Soup

Brrr it's cold out here! It hasn't been above 20 in a few weeks and it snowed (hard) in November. This is turning out to be a hell of a winter... And I don't mind! It just means that it's soup time! So go outside, throw some snowballs, and warm up with this delicious bacon squash soup!

First do this...

Then eat this!

This recipe is adapted from DaNelle over at Weed 'Em and Reap from her post, 10 Spectacular Fall Soup Recipes.  I saw the squash soup recipe and thought, "BACON!". Although I usually think BACON for everything. And onions. And garlic. Who doesn't love piggy goodness and stinky veggies?? Sounds appealing now doesn't it!?


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 onions, chopped
• Butter for sauteing (from grass-fed cows is best)
• 1 pound bacon, chopped (try to find uncured from a local farmer)
• 4 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef broth (or a mix)
• Butternut squash (either 3 containers organic pre-cut squash from Costco (6 lb. total) or about 3-4 medium squash)
• Chopped garlic
• Sea salt, pepper, chile powder to taste and a pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1.  In a stainless steel pot saute onions in butter

2. Add one pound chopped bacon.  Here's a tip: use scissors and just cut the bacon! Cook until bacon is cooked to your preference.

3.  Transfer onions and bacon to a separate dish. Let the grease run off back into the pot or add some lard into it to prevent burning, add in butternut squash and broth of choice. Or get a whole new pot if, like me, you got distracted and the bottom started burning. Bring to a simmer and cover.

This is the squash I got at Costco. Since it's pre-cut it's a little more expensive ($3.99 for 2lb.) than getting a whole squash but it saves you a ton of time and annoyance in the kitchen. If you use a whole squash you have to cut it in half, place face down in a dish of water into the oven on 400 for about 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. Then let it cool, peel off the skin, and dice.

4. Allow squash to simmer for a few minutes until it starts to get more tender. Add the bacon and onion back into the pot as well as garlic and spices. Continue cooking until squash is tender.

5. I believe this is where those immersion blenders come in handy... But I don't have one. So I transferred the soupyness to a blender and blended it for just a few seconds. I wanted to keep some texture and this turned the bacon into little bits!

SOUP! Top with some cheese and om nom nom!

This is also a good option for smaller toddlers and older babes who have started on solids (make sure all ingredients are age appropriate for your child). Just puree a little more to even out the texture. You could also swap out grass-fed beef chunks for the bacon if you're iffy on pork or don't have a good source of it!