Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash and Poblano Soup

Today is 6 days before my 32nd birthday and my boyfriend, who I love and adore, can't help himself when there is a present involved and always wants to exchange early. I didn't exactly fight him off but today.... I got a Ninja!  The food blender system, not the ancient warrior.  I have wanted this for a while now, actually I have wanted this since I had a sleepless night last spring which was spent watching infomercials, and now I have it.  So naturally, I scraped my whole pork tenderloin, salad and potato recipe and dashed to the local store to pick up some essentials and soup it was.  This soup was delicious, some nice heat from the chili powder and some sweetness from the apple, carrot and squash. Soup for dinner always needs a sidekick and for us it was a pepper jack and wheat grilled cheese. 

What you need...

1/2 large onion, sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1.5 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed.  

1 apple, peeled, cored and cubed

1 Roasted Poblano Pepper, sliced

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 cloves of garlic

1 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1/2  tsp cumin

1/4 tsp curry

4 cups Chicken Stock

How You Do it...

How to roast a poblano pepper:

Place the dry pepper either under the broiler or on a gas stove or grill until the outside is blackened. Next, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave alone for 5 minutes.  After the five minutes, remove the pepper, peel the blackened skin and remove the stem and seeds.  

1.   Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom stock pot on medium heat.  

2.  Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and cook until softened.

3.  Add the sweet potato, squash, apple, pepper,  garlic, spices and hot sauce.  Stir frequently and cook for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, be generous. 

4. Add chicken stock and bring to boil; reduce to a simmer. 

5.  Simmer until the vegetables are fork tender.  

6. Transfer to a blender (or a fancy Ninja, wink, wink) and puree until smooth.  

7.  Serve with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!

Note:  My mom's best friend gave me a "talking to" recently for not posting enough.  Thanks Lisa.