Something Yummy

I was telling a friend the other day that I would love to shut down our household for the week and stay in the house while Craig is gone. There are so many projects and piles to tend to and having one less person in the house seems like a great opportunity to catch up. But that was a crazy, unrealistic wish--with school, work, tennis, basketball and church commitments there is no hope of a lock-down.

But, today my wish is coming true--at least for 24 hours. Ice storms and freezing rain are in our forecast. It is already a home school day, and tennis has been cancelled. So, we have wonderful plans of a fire in the fireplace, comfy clothes, catching up on a few things and this soup--a modification of a few recipes. WHK and I are anxious to have a bowl of this tonight--I wish I could post a picture, but Craig has the camera...

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

2 whole butternut squash

1 large carton of chicken broth

1 package of cream cheese

1/2 carrot or 5-6 baby carrots

2 stalks of celery

1/2 white onion

4T butter

Cut the squash in half (lengthwise) and scoop out the seeds. Bake face down in a 350 oven until soft (this took me about an hour). Meanwhile finely chop the veggies and saute in butter--I used a large soup pot to do this. Once the carrot/celery/onion mix is tender add chicken broth and let simmer. Once the squash is done, flip them over to cool slightly. Scoop out all of the yummy squash and add to the broth. Add the cream cheese to the squash and broth and mix with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!