Butternut Squash Bisque

I started making this butternut squash soup about 10 years ago and it is a perennial fall favorite of mine. Three reasons I love this soup is it's easy to make, the ingredients are cheap and it tastes soooo good on a cool fall day.  The only drawback is it has cream cheese in it so it doesn't freeze well, but honestly you'll want to eat the entire batch at once so no freezer worries needed.

Ingredients

2 to 3 lb butternut squash 

Olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 chicken bouillon cubes
8 oz. package of cream cheese, cubed

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
• Halve squash lengthwise, discard the seeds, lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Place the squash inside down onto a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until tender.
• Remove from oven. Let squash set until cool to the touch. Scoop out the squash from the skin, place in a bowl and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. 
• Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. 
• Bring to a low boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and allow soup to cool completely.
• Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Servings
6 to 8

Broken Oven Tip
Add a bit of spiced flavor to the soup by sprinkling the squash with cinnamon and nutmeg before roasting.