Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Can you tell we eat a lot of soups? They're fast to fix, usually inexpensive and a healthy way to get my kids to eat their vegetables so we have soup on the menu about once a week, sometimes twice.

This is a new discovery of mine straight from a Cooking Light anthology but as always I changed it here and there. The original recipe is Butternut Squash-White Bean Soup but my version is even better if I do say so myself.

It smells wonderful cooking because of the spices that mix around so beautifully and this pot makes enough for the next day's meal as well.

1 large butternut squash
1 16-ounce package bacon
1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion
1 1/3 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can of pinto beans, undrained

Cut the large squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down on a greased cookie sheet then bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until tender.

Once done, carefully scrape out the seeds and strings from the squash and peel skin. Cube into 3/4 inch cubes and set aside.

In the bottom of your stock pot cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from pan, reserving the drippings in pan; crumble the bacon, and set aside.

Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar, broth, cumin, cinnamon, cloves and oregano; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes then add squash, milk, salt, black pepper, and undrained beans; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Sprinkle each serving with the crumbled bacon.

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