Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

There is a chance of rain almost every day this week.Since springtime in Oklahoma can never make up it’s mind, it is still soup weather. This is an easy recipe but the roasting does take some time. I made it on a lazy Saturday, topped it with Homemade Croutons, and served with a green salad. It turned out to be a perfect lunch.

Ingredients
– 1 acorn squash
– 1 large carrot
– 1/2 a large onion or 1 small onion
– 4-6 cloves of garlic
–  dash salt and pepper
– 6 cups chicken stock
– 1 cup milk
– Salt and pepper
– 2-3 TBS olive oil
– 2 TBS flour
– Topping suggestions: shredded mozzarella, shredded Parmesan, chopped green onion, croutons, crackers

Directions to roast the vegetables 
1.Preheat oven to 400.
2. Slice the acorn squash in half. Spoon out the seeds from the middle.
3. Place the squash, carrot, onion and garlic in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake until the vegetables are soft and cooked through, removing vegetables as they finish. The onion and garlic will take around 30 minutes. The carrot and squash may take 40-50 minutes.

Directions to make the soup from the roasted vegetables 
5. With the back of a fork smash the garlic removing the outer skin. Scoop out the flesh of the acorn squash with a spoon.
6. Puree the vegetables. You can place the garlic, squash, onion, and carrot in a bowl and use an immersion blender. Or you can use a food processor. You may have to do this in batches and add some chicken stock to get the mixture smooth.
7. Whisk chicken stock, milk, and vegetable puree in a saucepan over medium to medium to high heat bringing mixture to a boil.
8. Slowly whisk in 2 TBS flour to thicken the soup.
9. Set heat to low. Simmer soup for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
10. Add any desired toppings. Serve and enjoy!