From the 40: Butternut Tomato Bisque Soup

So you grew the tomatoes, canned the sauce, tucked them away on the shelf, and now the family is sick of spaghetti.....

You're not alone. 6 weeks of pasta dinners is enough to swear you off of canning tomato sauce altogether. But before you do anything rash, you need to try this recipe:

Needed: 1 butternut squash, 2 pints of tomato sauce (or use 2-21/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes), 1 onion (any variety), garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, preferred roasting oil (I use olive or avocado), cream (substitute half n half or whole milk if desired), and 1 cup of some sort of broth (chicken, veggie, or beef work).

Nice to haves: Parmesan cheese and chives for garnish. Home baked bread or grilled cheese for the perfect pairing.

Don't go looking for a recipe card...this isn't a recipe blog. This is a "use your homegrown harvest" type of blog! Every bit of this is approximate....use your gut.

1. Cut open butternut squash and scoop seeds. Lay on a baking sheet face up. Peel off skin and halve or quarter your onion; set amongst the squash halves. If using fresh tomatoes, halve and lay face up in roasting dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. Roast these veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to an hour.
2. Pull roasted veggies and allow to cool. Blend in a blender or use immersion blender in a large saucepan. If using canned tomato sauce, add the sauce now. Mix in a cup or so of preferred broth to thin.
3. Heat saucepan of soup over medium-low heat. As the soup begins to get to temp, splash in the dairy of choice for creaminess and stir in. When to temp, serve soup hot with garnishes and bread or sandwiches.

During early autumn harvest season, this soup and similar soups are an easy to whip up dinner, and easy to prep ahead and heat later in the day. My version here included home canned tomato sauce from this summer's tomatoes, a butternut squash out of my paltry 2024 squash harvest, dried chives and oregano from the herb garden, and home made beef broth. Hopefully next year I can grow my onions to usable size too!

"From the 40" comes from a real life 40 acre homestead in rural WI