Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

This is the recipe I blogged about when I did my taste test with two other French squash soups.  It's very much an "every day" soup, meaning it's healthy, good for you, and low cal, so you could eat it often.  If you wanted to make it a little richer, you could double the cream content.  I got the recipe from Kim McCrary's blog "Small and Simple Things."

Ingredients:
3C. peeled, diced butternut squash (about 1 small)
2C. thinly sliced carrot (4 medium)
3/4C. diced onion
1 T. butter
2 14-oz. cans chicken broth (I used chicken bullion and water)
1/4 t. ground white pepper
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4C. half and half (I used heavy cream; it's all I could find)

Directions:
Since I can't buy squash already prepped from Costco, I baked mine in the oven for about an hour to make it soft enough to scoop out of the skin the second time I made this soup.  (Peeling a raw butternut squash is no small feat, but that's really what the recipe says to do.)  Anyway, cook squash, carrot and onion in butter over medium heat, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until veggies are tender.  Cool slightly.

Blend mixture in a blender until smooth.  Return to saucepan.  Add pepper and nutmeg.  Heat just to boiling.  Add half and half (or cream) and heat through.  Serve with fresh bread (a baguette dipped in this soup is beyond yummy!)  Kim served it with walnut pumpkin muffins.