Roasted brussel sprouts and butternut squash for lunch
Roasted brussel sprouts and butternut squash for lunch
Sweet potato, red potato, and butternut squash hash with maple sausage
Sage and chevre shells with butternut squash, peas, and broccoli
Last night I devoted some time to something I usually ignore-my finances. I get paid biweekly, and get my paycheck automatically deposited to my account, and yet, I never accumulate any money. Curious about this fiscal plateau, I decided to track all of my expenses from the last couple of months and I discovered something very curious: I spend nearly as much money as I make in a month! I categorized my expenses and it turns out that I spend approximately $300 per month on food (groceries and eating out). Not to mention $300 on shopping…
The moral of the story is that instead of buying food I’m trying to make use of food I already have. For instance, I froze a butternut squash before winter break and decided to break it out tonight for dinner in my Sweet Potato Butternut Soup. I think the sweet potato mellows out the squash’s sweetness. Ham-or better yet, bacon fat-would be even better.
I previously attempted to resurrect some frozen butternut chunks for a different meal, but it turns out that roasting thawed squash just results in mush.
But mush is great for blended soup!
Sweet Potato Butternut Soup
1 sweet potato
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 chopped carrots
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 small frozen butternut squash, thawed and cubed
4 cups chicken broth
ground pepper
2 tbs soy sauce
1. Wash the sweet potato and pop it in the microwave for ~7 minutes (until very soft).
2. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Cook the onions and carrots until softened, then add the garlic. When the garlic has become fragrant (try not to let it brown), add the squash to the pot. Saute about 5 minutes.
3. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potato into the pot and add the chicken broth. Simmer until heated through. Then use a blender (or immersion blender if you have one) to puree the soup. If using a blender, blend in batches and return the puree to the pot. Season with ground pepper and soy sauce.
Garnish with green onions, parsley, or roasted broccoli like I did, and serve with roasted garlic and baguette. Enjoy!
