Recipes: Butternut Squash Bisque & Pumpkin Seeds

I'd like to go on record and say that fall is my favorite season. It used to be winter, when I was a kid, because of Christmas and my birthday in December. Then it was summer (lazy days of no school and vacations? yes please) but now that I'm all grown up and stuff, it's definitely fall. The weather has been beautiful, the leaves are changing, and I have been cooking some delicious recipes...

First up are these chili lime pumpkin seeds that I made after carving our pumpkin last night. This delicious recipe comes from House of Earnest. What's more, Erin has two more varieties in her pumpkin seed post that I have yet to make. Hop on over to her blog for the easy and delicious recipes!

Next, this butternut squash bisque is adapted from a recipe in the little booklet that came with my Cuisinart. It does require a food processor. If you don't have one, you could borrow from a friend -- or do what I did and get married. Getting a food processor is one of many good reasons to get married.

Ingredients: 

• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 butternut squash, about 2 pounds in size
• 1 lb of sweet potato, peeled
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup white rice
• 2 tsp of curry powder (or 1/2 tsp each of tumeric, cinnamon, ginger, & nutmeg, with a dash of crushed red pepper)
• 5 cups of chicken stock

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup milk

Steps:

1) In your food processor, use the normal/basic blade to finely chop the onion and garlic. Remove and set aside.

2) Cut the peel off of the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Cut into pieces that will fit through your food processor's feed tube. Cut the sweet potato into similarly sized pieces.

3) Insert the shredding disc into your food processor (if your food processor doesn't have one, I suppose you could just chop the squash & potato instead) and feed the pieces of squash and potato into the food processor. Once you've shredded all of it, remove and set aside. Clean your food processor right away, otherwise it may get stained orange.

4) In a large pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and the curry powder and cook, stirring often, until rice is slightly browned and translucent. 

5) Add the chicken stock, squash, and sweet potato. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes.

6) Strain the sweet potato and squash, reserving the liquid in a different pot (you'll be adding this back to the soup in a minute.)

7) Insert the normal blade into your food processor. In at least two batches, add the drained squash mixture. Puree 1-2 minutes or until smooth. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice.

8) Return the squash puree to the pot, and stir the drained broth back into the mixture. You should have a thick, creamy bisque at this point.

9) Stir in lemon juice, honey, and salt and pepper to taste.

10) Just before serving, stir in the milk, and allow the mixture to heat through.

Hope you enjoy this delicious fall recipe!

-Megan