Pumpkin Soup

Max and I were watching Food Network the other day and on one of the competition shows someone made pumpkin soup.  Max said that he really likes squash soup, so I went online, bookmarked the recipe, and made it today.  This recipe only takes about 30 minutes and is pretty cheap, especially if you have a decent collection of spices on hand.  This was super filling too; I only had one bowl and was satisfied 2 hours later.  I didn't take a picture because I forgot! 

On a side note, it snowed here yesterday! It was 65 on Friday, snowed on Saturday, and tomorrow its supposed to be 65 again!  It wasn't a ton of snow, but very odd for March in Oklahoma.

Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Soup
From: Food Network

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup half-and-half (I used fat-free)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook, whisking frequently, until the butter starts to brown and foam, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
2. Stir in the onion, carrot, celery, sage, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and cook until tender, stirring frequently, until tender. 
3. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute.
4. Stir together the half-and-half and cornstarch in a liquid measuring cup, and pour it into the pot, along with the chicken broth, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, salt and pepper. 
5. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. When the soup starts to thicken reduce the heat to low. 
6. Using an immersion blender*, puree the soup until a smooth consistency is reached and simmer until ready to serve. Ladle the soup into serving bowls.

* If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender.  Just remember, hot soup expands when you blend it so don't overfill the blender.