Savory Squash Soup! MoFo 15

I love making soups. I spent the day boiling veggie scraps to make vegetable broth. This was my first time doing it and I honestly don't know why I have never done this before. It's genius! Not only do you save money by not having to buy broth, but you cut down on waste by using veggie scraps that would otherwise be thrown out and you don't have to worry about recycling tetra packs. Win, Win, Win! Making your own broth is super easy. All you do is save all the scraps you would usually compost or throw out in your freezer. I'm talking EVERYTHING! Onion skins/nubs, carrot peels/ends, garlic ends, pepper seeds, caulfiflower stalks, celery greens/ends...you name it. The only things you don't really want to use in your broth is brocolli, cabbage and any other veggies that might overwhlem the flavour of the other vegetables. Cook on low heat, skimming the foam off the top as needed. This makes for a nice clear broth. The longer you cook it the more flavour you will get.

While my broth was simmering away I realized I had 1/2 of a squash and a lone carrot in the fridge that needed to be used up so I decided to make a nice creamy soup. First I  preheated the oven to 375. Then I peeled the squash & carrot and cut into 1 inch cubes. I then cut a medium onion into quarters and split the layers up. Next I tossed them in olive oil, garlic salt, sage & thyme. I layed them all out evenly on a baking sheet, popped them into the oven and set the timer to 30 mins. Then I had the pleasure of watching episode 3 of The Walking Dead. Holy fork, I don't ever want this show to end...EVER! It is so good, if you haven't tuned in do yourself a favor and dedicated a few hours to watching it, you will not regret it. Ok, back to soup. Once the veggies were done roasting, I let them sit out to cool and finished watching my show. Once it was over I headed back into the kitchen, put the veggies into the food processor with a bit of water and added some salt. That was it. Soup's on!

Ingredients:

1/2 squash of your choice, cubed into 1 inch peices
1 medium onion*, quarted, break apart layers
1 carrot, peeled and cubed into 1 inch peices
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp crushed sage
1/2 tsp crushed thyme leaves

2-3 cups water or vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Toss squash, onions & carrots in olive oil and spices. Roast in oven for 30 mins. Once veggies are cool enough to handle, put in food processor with 1 cup of water or broth. Blend on high until smooth and gradually add more liquid until it is as thick or thin as you like. Add salt & pepper to taste.

*You could use just 1/2 an onion as it does have a strong flavor in the soup. (I love onion!)