Farmhouse Roasted Winter Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS:

3 winter squash, your choice (butternut, acorn, kabocha, etc)
3 carrots, diced
3 parsnips, diced
1 onion, diced
Olive oil/butter
1 bunch fresh thyme
½ cup honey
½ cup brown sugar
Salt/pepper

PROCEDURE:

• Cut squash into quarters. Drizzle each piece with olive oil, brown sugar, honey, thyme, salt and pepper. Wrap individually in foil and onto a sheet tray.
• Place in 400-degree oven and cook until completely soft. Let cool.
• Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape out the pulp into a bowl.
• In a medium pot, melt butter and olive oil. Add onions, carrot and parsnips and cook until soft.
• Add the roasted squash and enough water to cover. Simmer for 20minutes.
• Blend until smooth, taste for seasoning.
• Soup can be finished with a splash of cream if desired.
• Top with croutons, cheese, fresh herbs etc.

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Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 spaghetti squash

Marinara Sauce-

2 can Manzano tomatoes
1 medium chopped brown onions
1 tsp. chopped garlic
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
pinch of dried basil, oregano and thyme
salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
olive oil

Mozzarella cheese
Fontina cheese
Parmesan cheese

PROCEDURE:

Spaghetti Squash –

• Split spaghetti and remove seeds.
• Wrap in foil and place in 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Squash should be soft to touch.
• Remove from foil and cool.

Sauce –
• Sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat.
• Add garlic and chili flakes.
• Cook onions until soft and begin to caramelize.
• Add white wine and reduce, stirring to get bits of caramelized onions off the bottom of the pot.

• Add tomatoes and juice to the pot and simmer while crushing tomatoes with a spoon or potato masher. You want some texture.
• Add bay leaves and dry herbs
• Add seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper.
• Reduce heat and let it simmer and thicken.
• Taste and cook until consistency is like a marinara – thick but not too thick.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash & Marinara –

• With a spoon remove squash from the shell, trying not to break the shell.
• Gently break squash apart until the consistency is like spaghetti.
• In a bowl, toss some of the sauce with spaghetti squash so the sauce lightly coast squash.
• Place tossed squash back in empty squash shells.
• Spoon more sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese
• Place in 325-degree oven and bake until cheese turns brown.
• Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley.
Serve with remaining sauce on the side and some grated parmesan cheese.