Welcome to the first of what will be many reimagined recipes from some of my old favorite diet cookbooks. Yes, diet cookbooks. You know, those recipes where you had to go out and spend extra money on tasteless, cardboard-y, and usually chemically-modified ingredients to enhance the flavor in order to replace the calories, fat, or sugar that was being taken from the original products?
NO MORE!
I’m reclaiming these recipes and our taste buds to create them in a cost effective manner where they are packed with flavor, real food, nutrient dense ingredients, and broken down in the simplest and easy (and/or fastest) ways to prepare them.
First up, comes from probably one of my most referenced diet cookbooks–the biggest offending diet ingredient in the original recipe called for non-fat powdered creamer to create the creamy effect in the soup. I have altered the amounts/ingredients so much, this recipe is lightyears from the original and SO MUCH more flavorful! Oh, and this recipe cost me $2.97 to make because I got a killer deal on the squash.
Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
- About 4 cups (1.5 lbs.) diced butternut squash
- 1 onion, cut in small pieces
- 3-4 smashed garlic cloves (Or, if you’re me–2x that quantity #allthegarlic)
- 4 cups of your favorite stock (vegetable, chicken, beef, etc)
- 1/4 cup Hatch green chile (fresh, frozen, or just canned green chiles–more or less to taste, and be aware of the level of spice!)
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (optional)
Bring all of the ingredients except the milk to a boil and simmer at a low boil for 60-90 minutes until butternut squash dices are tender all the way through (you could steam the squash first, but it creates a less creamy texture to the soup that breaks later in leftovers).
Bring down temperature of mixture for a few minutes from boiling and add to blender with the milk (optional) and puree completely to a creamy texture. The squash on its own creates the creamy texture, so the milk only enhances it and helps to temper the heat of the chiles–up to you! Serve hot or cold, it’s delicious both ways!
My test batch created roughly 1.5 liters of soup. This freezes beautifully or lasts several days in the fridge. Great for a main dish and the leftovers can be for lunch for a few meals depending on family size. Enjoy!
I would love to know if you make this dish–please provide some feedback or tweaks you made to the recipe in the comments!
Heart and Sole Fitness & Wellness 