Butternut Squash Vegetable Sausage Soup

It’s autumn & there is a chilly crisp wetness in the air here in New York. It makes me want to throw on comfy warm clothes, grab a fur blanket (faux of course) & fill up on warm nutritious comfort foods. So I thought why not make a homemade soup that will leave this home with a warm welcoming smell when my family arrives home from work, school & sports. This recipe is healthy, simple & honestly I savored every bite.

Ingredients:

• 1 large diced zucchini

• 1 yellow or white onion diced

• 3 garlic cloves diced

• ½ cup shredded cabbage

• ½ cup of leeks

• 1 cup of diced carrots

• 2 cups of cubed butternut squash

• 1 cup of diced tomatoes

• 1 cup of cannellini beans ( no salt added)

• 1 cup of kidney beans (no salt added)

• 32 ounces of chicken bone broth ( low sodium)

• 1-2 cups of water

• Rosemary

• Himalayan salt

• Ground pepper

• Olive oil

• ¾ to 1 pound of chicken sausage (sea salt, pepper & garlic in the chicken sausage)

The first thing you want to do is saute all the vegetables minus the butternut squash & the diced tomatoes in 1 tsp of olive oil for 4- 5 minutes. While those vegetables are sauteing, cook the squash in boiling water or in the microwave. As both of those are cooking, take a large pot & place the bone broth, water, diced tomatoes & beans in there on high. AFter the squash & vegetables are done add them to the soup. Then use the pan you sauteed the vegetable in to add 1 tsp of olive oil to saute the sausage in. You want to cook the sausage all the way throw and make sure it's crumbly (the casing needs to be removed). Once the sausage is cooked add that to the soup. Take the soup from high to medium stirring every five minutes for the next 20-25 minutes. This makes five large servings.

I served this with an organic rosemary olive oil bread & salad for our dinner. It was a HUGE hit with everyone!