Apple-Cheddar Squash Soup

I am pretty sure that for someone who is 26 (and born in 1986….no, not 1886), I have made a lot of butternut squash soup.  I have made it with pears (too sweet), curry condiments (different but not quite fall-ish), ginger and apple (pretty good, a little too thick), sausage (not my favorite) and finally with cheddar and apple (winner!).

I couldn't quite tell you exactly when my obsession with this vegetable began, but it was definitely sometime in my twenties. Maybe I’m just making up for lost time. To be completely honest with you, I would make and eat (greedily) all of the above squash soup combos, but this recipe is hands down my favorite. The combination of squash, apple and cheddar is just so overwhelmingly FALL that, gosh, I almost can’t handle it. I made it most recently on an exceedingly chilly Sunday before piling on a sweatshirt and a sweater, raking the leaves and switching the blanket on our bed to a down comforter. Even Scott commented that it was the perfect thing to eat on a cool fall evening.

Go here to read the recipe for this delicious soup. It comes from Food Network Magazine's cookbook Great EASY Meals gifted to me by Chelsey! This is seriously a great book (every recipe has a picture!) and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

A couple of notes:

-I like this soup a bit more squashy and a little less cheesy. I add an extra ¾ cup diced squash, and only about half of the cheddar.

-I almost always switch out the sage for dried rosemary, just because that’s what I have on hand. Do it however you please. :)

-I typically buy the Pillsbury French Loaf bread dough to make with this soup. It is delicious and it adds the smell of baking bread to your house. You should do this too.