Creamy Roasted Squash Soup

I have been on a soup kick lately and squash soup is one of my new favorites. Talk about comfort food! This is one that fits the bill. Move over chicken-noodle! The great thing about this soup is that it is ..."souper" easy! Minimal chopping and dicing, to start you simply toss the whole squash into the oven! I actually use my toaster oven for this. It's far more efficient for this recipe, it has a convection setting and the squash fit perfectly. Then simply saute the onion and garlic, then toss everything into the blender and voila!

Ingredients:
2 medium acorn or butternut squash or one of each!
1 medium onion sliced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp coconut butter* (I used homemade)
3-4 cups of almond milk (more or less for desired consistency, alternately you can use water)
sea salt to taste

Directions:
Roast the squash, whole, in the oven or toaster oven on 350 degrees for about an hour. When this is done, saute the onion and garlic in the coconut oil until a bit caramelized  Add a splash of water if needed to keep from scorching. As the onion and garlic sautes, cut your squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Scoop the flesh into a large blender. Add the onion & garlic, coconut butter and almond milk to the blender. Run for 2-3 minutes until or until smooth and creamy. You can eat this right away or put it into a soup pot and warm it a little more if desired. Serves 4-6.

There are several ways to enjoy this soup, you can reduce the garlic and onion and instead add some nutmeg, a tiny bit of ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger, however you like it! This go I wanted a more garlicy flavor. I did add a tiny bit of nutmeg and clove to one bowl I had, it was pretty tasty!

*For the coconut butter, you could simply use coconut oil if you don't have any on hand. You can buy it in health food stores or make it yourself with a good food processor or blender. It is the simplest thing in the world, but it does take a little patience! All you do is buy a package of unsweetened dried coconut, toss it in the blender and run it until the oils break out and it becomes liquidy goodness. It will take 5-10 minutes or more depending on your machine. It is worth it though and so much cheaper than buying it pre-made. You can then pour it into a container like a mason jar and store it in your fridge. It will turn to a solid like butter or coconut oil. It melts easily and is amazing spread over toast. I'll never miss regular butter again! Here is a link to show you the process from one of my favorite recipe sites. Coconut Butter