Soups

Back in October, we got a number of pumpkins and squash that we've been using along the way (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-visit-to-pumpkin-patch.html). We still have a few Butternut Squash so, on Monday, decided to make soup... even though the 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies we're having aren't "soup weather".

This time, we decided to pre-cook the butternut squash in the Instant Pot to make it easier to remove the skins.

Most of the ingredients in the Instant Pot for the soup -- squash, carrots, onion, Granny Smith apples, sage, chicken broth, garlic, cinnamon, and nutmeg -- before cooking. Doesn't that look good?

After cooking, added coconut milk and used the stick blender to puree. We were supposed to take the sage out before blending but... we didn't... it still turned out to taste really good! Maybe the sage added some fiber?

Then today, we had gotten some kale to make Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat).

This was in progress... after the sausage and potatoes and onions had cooked, we had stirred in the kale. After this we added cream cheese and milk. Some recipes called for half-and-half or cream, but we had cream cheese and milk and one recipe called for that, so we decided to use our our cream cheese. It also came out very tasty!

We used Italian sausage that we purchased at one of the markets in Quartzsite (one of the grocery stores there that has a really good fresh meat department). It was good, but last time we used Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage and, although it was a lot fattier, it was also tastier (the two probably go together, fat and taste...).

Both soups made enough for leftovers for a few meals, so we'll be eating on soup for a few days!