So after reading almost 100 comments, it seems like you want easy, healthy, fast, and cheap meals. No problem! Seriously though, it looks like I have my work cut out for me this fall!
My first two recipes are soups. Soups are so cheap to make, can be made ahead of time and either frozen or stored in the fridge for several days, and warm you up on those cool fall evenings. I almost always serve my homemade soups with a loaf of fresh whole wheat bread. It costs under a dollar to make and really fills everyone up.
This soup uses fall produce to save even more money. Many people have squash growing in their gardens and the store shelves are starting to fill up with many varieties of squash. Apples are also getting cheaper which makes this soup perfect for fall!
Butternut Squash Soup
This tasty soup is made in the blender.
Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 1 large apple, peeled and quartered
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 1 Tbs minced garlic
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teas thyme
- 1/8 teas salt
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
Steam the squash and apple until soft.
While your squash is steaming, saute the onion and garlic in butter until the onion is clear.
Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
Add the squash, apple and onion to the blender.
Blend until smooth, less than one minute. Serve immediately.
This soup was made in a Vita-mix. It was absolutely delicious and healthy too! Don’t have a Vita-Mix? As long as the squash and apples are really soft any blender should work, you can also use a food processor.
Cost Breakdown:
- Squash $1.40
- Apple $0.35
- Onion $0.20
- Garlic $0.05
- Butter $0.05
- Thyme/ Salt $0.05
- Flour $0.25
- Broth Free (leftover from crock pot chicken)
Total Cost $2.35 plus $1 for a loaf of bread. Serves four.
Visit Life as Mom for more delicious fall recipes and The Thrifty Mama for more food, menus and meals!
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! We had the butternut squash soup for dinner too! It was deliciuos!
Erin
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Perfect for a fall day! Thanks for the great idea! We love fall soups and this would be another delicious one! We’ll have to round up some squash!
Thanks for the recipe!
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Yum! This sounds scrumptious!!
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Oh yum, haven’t tried it with apples. I make mine by roasting the squash first, will def have to try your way. Thanks for sharing.
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What is your secret to cutting up squash before it’s cooked?
Thanks for your help!
Kelly
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Hey there. Came over from TMTT.
Wow, this looks good!!! This would be a good reason to finally get myself an immersion blender.
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I’ve never made this and it looks so good! A great Fall soup for sure.
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A little variation that I use is coriander in place of the thyme. It seems to work well with the apple, especially if it is one of the tart varieties.
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Wonderful. I want to make this recipe. Thanks for sharing and joining in for TMTT.
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That looks really good. I’m going to give it a try using gluten-free flour of course! Thanks for the recipe. Linda
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I’ve never had anything like this. Looks good!
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What a wonderful fall soup! I will add the ingredients to my market list.
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YUM-OLA! I’m enjoying right now and had to comment! Thanks for the great recipe. Plus, if you divide into 3 servings (which makes for abundant, filling servings), each serving is 4 WW points.
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This looks like a wonderful addition to a holiday meal! Have a great day!
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I love the beautiful color of this soup, and I’m sure it tastes wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
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Not only do I like the sounds of this soup recipe, but I love the pictures you included. Fantastic!!
Thanks for participating in my Favorite Ingredients Friday- Soup Edition recipe exchange from last week! I hope you’ll join in again today.
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Mmmm, soup. It seems like I’ve tried this recipe from your site before, and it was delicious. However, my favorite butternut squash soup recipe was adapted from a Japanese cookbook; it was called “a bowl of sunshine.” It had a sweet potato along with butternut, and used chicken broth with kelp soaked in it (yummy glutamates), then simmered with fresh ginger. It’s a hassle to make, but my husband loves it.
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TheHappyHousewife Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
You probably did, I tweaked the recipe slightly and republished it to go with my “cheap, easy, quick, and healthy recipe” series, lol. Your recipe sounds great!
Toni
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That’s sounds yummy! I’ll have to see if there is a squash in the garden.
Thanks for the recipe!
~Liz
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I love a good soup in the Fall season!
Nell
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This sounds delish!
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I am on a mission to get my husband to like squash and I never thought to try serving it as a soup since the texture is different but the flavor is all there. Thanks for the recipe.
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TheHappyHousewife Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Bree-
This soup is very creamy, so if he doesn’t like that type of texture I wouldn’t try this soup. The taste is delicious though… just wanted you to know.
Toni
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Was just wondering what to make for dinner and this sounds so good right now. I have some frozen butternut squash puree that I can use and apples coming out of my ears. Thanks for the reminded of a delicious fall meal.
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What a YUMMY!!! CREAMY!!! soup. Geri
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This looks awesome! Do you happen to know if it freezes well ?
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Just a note for people who don’t have a blender/processor- when I make soup like this, I steam it down then add a little water and mash it with a potato masher to get it nice and smooth. It works really well!
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I have notice that you really love to cook squash. Why? Anyways, thanks for the recipe. I will try it again in my kitchen. Let see if my kids and husband will like it.
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TheHappyHousewife Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Jean-
I think I have two squash recipes on the site, so I guess I love to cook it. I try to cook seasonally with healthy foods to cut costs and provide maximum nutrition for my family.
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