Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

This was the first time I had ever cooked with butternut squash. My husband and I were both sick on the same weekend so we wanted to relax as much as possible. A crockpot recipe seemed to be the answer, so we prepared the ingredients together and let the it cook for hours. It was great to have such a hearty and warm comforting bowl of soup during the cold winter.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium apple, cored and quartered
• 1 medium (about 3-4 lbs) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2" nob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp group cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to your taste (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp each)
• 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
• fresh thyme, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients EXCEPT for the coconut milk and fresh thyme to slow cooker
2. Gently stir around the ingredients to combine 
3. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
4. Remove and discard the bayleaf then stir in the coconut milk.
5. Blend the soup until smooth (I used my blender)
6. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve warm. Enjoy!

Thanks to Clean Food Crush for the original recipe!