Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

I recently reintroduced myself to squash. I had a bad experience with squash as a kid. True story... when I was about 8-years-old, my mom bought a squash lasagna from the Schwan's man. I kid you not, it was the grossest thing I have ever eaten in my life! I refused to eat it. My parents made me sit at the kitchen table until I finished eating. After hours of me pushing it around the plate, they gave up and ended up going to bed.  I fed the lasagna to my dog Copper. It was very traumatic- okay not really, but I could never eat squash after that. I also don't eat mushrooms because my 1st grade teacher told me they were made from ant throw-up, but that is a story for another time.

A few months ago, I decided it was time to be an adult and face my fears of squash, because, let's be real, there are much bigger things to be afraid of than a vegetable. I started simple, a yellow squash to put in my pasta sauce. Okay, that wasn't so bad. Then, I tried zucchini squash as a side dish. Hmm, also not bad. So, I went for the mac daddy, the butternut squash.

To be honest, this was the first and only recipe I have ever made with butternut squash. I should definitely try experimenting a little more with it because I have seen some very yummy looking recipes.

I use fresh squash, though you are certainly able to use frozen or packaged. Frozen or packaged squash is a lot easier to use, but I just like to use fresh.

If you use fresh, you will need to peel and dice the squash. This is tricky. The skin is pretty thick. My vegetable peeler isn't sharp enough to cut through it, so I use a knife. Though I did buy it at the dollar store, so you get what you pay for I guess. When picking a squash, you want to look for one that has a long top and smaller bottom. The bottom of the squash is mostly seeds, which you are going to scoop out. My first squash had a huge bottom and there was hardly any actual meat to it.

I love this soup. It is very creamy and is perfect for this colder weather. It does take a little bit of preparation if you are using fresh squash, but it would be a quick recipe if you use frozen or packaged. I hope you like it as much as we do!

What is your favorite way to use squash? Leave a comment below!