It is a week to have some fun in the kitchen. For a home cook who loves to experiment, it is a great time of year for autumn flavors. Today I want to share an easy recipe for a fall soup that will fill up your holiday guests, and is perfect for the day before Thanksgiving meal. It is a lighter soup with big flavor, easy to make from scratch, and will wow your family. Then, I’ll give you some links to more of my recipes for great meals for the days before and after the holiday.

One of my favorite fall flavors is butternut squash. They are ridiculously easy to cook. Just cut in half, remove the seeds, and put cut side down on a baking sheet.

I put the seeds from this one in a jar with some water to ferment and clean. See my post on Saving Seeds for more on that.

Bake the squash for one hour at 350ºF. This one weighed about 1-3/4 pounds. It was barely enough for two bowls of soup. Plan on about one pound of squash per person, as some of the weight is water and will evaporate in cooking.

Turn cut side up and allow to cool so you can handle them.

While the squash cools off, chop some onion. I did about 1/4 cup.

Saute the onion in a bit of olive oil until translucent and lightly browned. Scrape the pulp out of the skin into a bowl. You’ll need some fat-free half and half and a bit of cheese for garnish.

Put the onion, a glug of half and half in a blender or food processor. Blend until nicely pureed. I can’t tell you exactly how much to use, as I didn’t measure it. It will depend on how big your squash is as well. Add half the squash and puree the mixture, adding as much half and half as needed to make a smooth soup.

Add the remainder of the squash, and as much more half and half as needed. Process until smooth. When you have a smooth soup at the consistency you like, pour into a saucepan and heat through. I like mine thick.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl. Add a little mound of grated cheese in the middle. I used an Italian blend, but mozzarella or Parmesan would do just as well. Add some dried parsley flakes to finish.

I served it to My Sweet Babboo for a nice lunch. Delicious and filling but not heavy, it is gluten free provided the cheese doesn’t have any. Some packaged grated cheeses have gluten in them to keep the bits from sticking together.

Download the recipe – Butternut Squash Soup

Perhaps you need a make ahead dish for Thanksgiving Eve. Try my Butternut Squash Lasagne. You can make it a day ahead and just bake when you are ready. If you’d like a heartier version, add some ground chicken like I did on last Sunday’s post.

My Thanksgiving Dinner post will give you my dressing recipe along with how to slow roast your turkey for moist and delicious slices not only on the holiday but days later for succulent sandwiches.

If you are just doing a turkey breast for two, try my Panko Crusted Turkey Breast. Made with Dijon mustard, it is a spicier recipe with a different flavor for the meal. The crust gives the meat a nice crunch.

For another nice fall inspired side dish, or a meatless main dish, try my Cheesy Baked Acorn Squash.

And for a heartier version, try my Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash. You can use acorn squash for a less sweet dish if you like, but the recipe is the same.

I have many more recipes as I love to experiment in the kitchen, just click on the Cooking category on the sidebar, or use the search function for a specific ingredient or type – like leftovers, or squash. We sometimes do Mexican food on Thanksgiving Eve, and but more often we’ve gone with Italian. Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving Eve meal? Are you cooking this week?

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