Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Yesterday the last bit of snow in our yard had finally melted. Today, I woke up to this…

april snow

Mother nature has decided to prolong our winter a bit longer around here and we are faced with some more snow. Instead of getting upset about it, I am trying my darndest to embrace it. I had forewarning that it was coming so I was at least able to “prepare” myself for it, but it still hurts a little bit to see the ground covered in white.

But, there is absolutely NOTHING I can do about it. So I’m trying not to let it ruin my day.

It’s kind of like life. Sometimes life throws you a few inches of snow in April. We are all faced with ups and downs and curveballs along the way. We can choose to sulk and get dragged down by the downfalls, or we can choose a positive attitude and make the most of the situation.

To embrace the weather we decided to make a fire in the fireplace. I honestly didn’t think we would be having any more of these this spring but last night I figured, why not, it’s cold enough outside and it would make for a cozy evening.

Yup, this is a real scene of an April evening.

fireplace fireplace

moose

What else do you think of when you think of a perfect cozy evening? Homemade soup of course! I had a package of frozen butternut squash that I roasted in the oven with onion and garlic.

butternut squash soup butternut squash soup

Once it was roasted I added it to a soup pot, added bone broth, and some spices, and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. I then used my immersion blender to puree the soup. I ladled the soup into a couple of bowls, topped them with fresh cilantro, and that was it. This soup is so incredibly easy.

butternut squash soup

butternut squash soup

Butternut Squash Soup
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Ingredients
  • 2 lbs butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 5 small garlic cloves (or 3 large ones)
  • 4 cups chicken broth (I used homemade bone broth)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp coconut aminos (you can substitute with soy sauce)
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • ⅛ tsp garlic powder *optional
  • a sprinkle of nutmeg
  • fresh cilantro
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you have a roasting option, select roast.
  2. Spray one large baking pan with olive oil. Place squash, onion, and garlic on the pan and spread into one layer. Spritz top with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Roast for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and transfer to soup pot.
  5. Turn stove top to low. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro. Stir, bring to a simmer and cover.
  6. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
  7. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh cilantro.

 

An outdoor workout is not in the cards today. I’m going to continue to “embrace” the snow situation as best as I can and lace up my shoes and hit the treadmill downstairs. Spring WILL make its appearance again and it WILL stick around soon. I am not losing hope.

Life WILL have its ups and downs but I refuse to let the lows keep me low. Keep your head up, be thankful for a new day, and make the most of a less than perfect situation.

Question: How do you stay positive? 

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Simple Chicken Roll-Ups and a GIVEAWAY WINNER

With the whirlwind of the holidays among us, I am doing my best to remember these stress reliever techniques so that I am able to enjoy this busy beautiful time. I really truly am trying to relish every second of the holidays because to me this really is the most wonderful time of the year and it comes and goes so quickly, but I’m only human, and I’m pretty darn exhausted. My two cups of coffee in the mornings have been very helpful though. 🙂

Monday

I had the majority of my Christmas shopping done but still needed a few things so I set out to finish it up.

For lunch I refueled with a deli chicken wrapped pickle and havarti cheese as well as carrots and hummus. There was no time to waste, it had to be quick!

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I made myself a batch of homemade trail mix for the road and headed out again.

trail mix

Want to know one of the great benefits of having a birthday in November? I still have birthday gift cards, which means when I go Christmas shopping for others, I also get to go shopping for myself and I don’t have to feel guilty one bit because I am not spending a penny on myself!

I found this workout tank at Macy’s on sale, plus I had a coupon…so the grand total was $9. I thrive off finding good deals like these!

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workout tank

For dinner I had a very tasty salad made of mixed greens, broccoli, black beans, olives, sunflower seeds, avocado, and ranch dressing.

salad

Mom, dad, and Abbie stopped over after dinner to hang out for a bit.

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Tuesday

Tuesday was a doozy of a day. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill before work, went to work, ran some errands, then came home to a leaking fridge which was flooding the basement. It was a stressful day to say the least. Again, I need to remember the stress reliever techniques!

My evening meal was extraordinarily simple yet very delicious. Lettuce cups with hummus, deli chicken slices and avocado. I rolled them up and really enjoyed the cute little concoction.

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Wednesday

I took the day off from any type of workout on Wednesday. My body was needing a day to just chill.

On Tuesday evening I got a batch of butternut squash soup ready in the crock pot. The recipe is very similar to this carrot pumpkin soup recipe, except I used butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin or carrot. At noon on Wednesday, we covered the crock pot and set it to low for 6 hours.

butternut squash soup

The result:

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A dish you can feel real good about eating. Healthy, delicious and ready for me when I get home from work. Perfecto!

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PARKERS FARM PEANUT BUTTER WINNER
It’s that time to announce the big winner of the case of Parkers Farm peanut butter. The winner has been randomly selected using a random number generator and the winner is…
Becky @ Olives n Wine!!
Congrats Becky! Please email me at beautifullynutty@gmail.com with your address so we can get those goodies sent out to you asap!
Thank you to all of you who entered! I am so incredibly thankful for all of you.
Continue Reading Simple Chicken Roll-Ups and a GIVEAWAY WINNER