Butternut Squash Apple Soup

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, chopped
1 tart green apple, peeled, cored, chopped (squash and apple should be at a 3 to 1 ratio)
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth if vegetarian)
Pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper

Combine butter, onion, celery, and carrot in large saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes. Add squash, apple, and broth. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is soft. Puree. Add spices to taste.

(I roast my butternut squash first. This makes working with the squash easier and adds a nice roasted flavor to the soup. To roast a butternut squash, first preheat the oven to 400 F. With the squash, you first cut the ends of the squash off, which makes the squash easier to stand on end and cut. Cut lengthwise from top to tip. Scoop the seeds and fibers out from the center of both halves. Pierce the skin side with a fork a few times. Place both halves on rimmed baking pan, cut side up, with 1/4" of water in the pan to prevent the skin from sticking to the pan. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until squash is softened. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Peel the skin from the squash and now squash is roasted and ready to use. For this soup recipe, I cube the squash and put it in the simmering soup to add and absorb the rest of the soup flavors. I then ladle the entire soup contents into a food processor and pulse until consistency is thick and creamy. Add salt/pepper/nutmeg to taste.)

Serves 4-6.