2 to 3 medium whole butternut squash (5 to 6 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 leeks, white part only, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for garnish
Italian flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cut each butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard.

Place halves cut-side-up in a large shallow baking pan.

Bake squash, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours, or until squash is tender.

Allow squash to cool at least 10 minutes, then scoop out flesh with spoon; reserve in bowl.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in stockpot or large saucepan.

Saute leeks, celery, and garlic until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place 1/3 of reserved squash, 1/3 of cooked vegetables, and 1/2 cup of broth into work bowl of food processor or blender. Process 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth.

Pour mixture into medium saucepan used to cook vegetables. Repeat process twice with remaining ingredients.

Add remaining chicken broth, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste, if desired, and bring to simmer on medium-high heat.

Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes until flavors have blended, stirring occasionally.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.

Remove stems from parsley and arrange a few parsley leaves for garnish. Serve lime wedges on the side for extra flavor. Makes 12 servings.

Notes: If you plan to freeze this soup, cool it thoroughly first. Batches may be stored in freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months.

1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic clove, minced
2 pounds broccoli, tough ends removed, stems and florets chopped
4 cups fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine onion and garlic in a 2-quart saucepan with 1/4 cup of water.

Simmer until onion is soft, about 10 minutes; spoon vegetables into a large pot.

Add broccoli and broth to pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Once soup boils, reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft but still green, about 8 minutes. Do not cover pot while broccoli is cooking or it will turn gray.

Remove soup from heat; puree until smooth in batches in a blender (be careful not to splatter hot liquid) or puree in pot using an immersion blender.

Add evaporated milk and hot pepper sauce to soup; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yields about 1-3/4 cups per serving.

PointsPlus Value: 3
Servings: 4

A friend of mine gave me this recipe. She made it for a church dinner and got RAVE reviews. Everyone wanted the recipe!

4 large sweet onions, chopped
4 14.5-ounce cans of low fat beef broth
1/2 stick butter, margarine, or “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter”
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Mozzarella string cheese cut into 1/4 – 1/2″ slices
Croutons

Preheat pot.

Add butter and onions. Cook until soft and yellow.

Add broth and simmer all afternoon.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over soup to taste while simmering.

Ladle into ovenware soup bowls.

Put croutons and a slice of mozzarella cheese on top.

Broil* in oven until cheese melts and browns slightly.

* If you don’t want to broil, just put the hot soup in bowls and add cheese and croutons. The cheese will melt by itself.

2 medium cloves garlic, minced
Fresh vegetables – your choice (I usually use carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, and green beans.)
6 or more cups chicken or beef broth
1/2 can or more Rotels
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Put all ingredients in to a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are cooked.

0 WW plus points

I got this recipe from a neighbor, but I modified it by adding additional vegetable possibilities and reducing the calories. Enjoy!

1/2 – 1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery, zucchini, or broccoli
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups frozen hash browns
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups (8 ounces) 2% Velveeta
1-1/2 cups 1% milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup light sour cream

In a 3-qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside.

In the same saucepan, saute vegetables, basil, and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add broth, potatoes, and beef; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a small skillet, melt remaining butter.

Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly.

Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Reduce heat to low.

Add cheese, milk, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts.

Remove from the heat; blend in sour cream.

Yield: 8 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

3 pounds red potatoes, peeled and diced
Water to cover potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion, diced
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 pint fat-free half and half

Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with enough water to just cover them. Add salt. Cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes are well done. About 20 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, saute the onion in butter until soft.

When potatoes are done, do not drain.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher in the cooking liquid.

Add the onions, half and half, and pepper to taste.

Mix well and bring back up to the boiling point.

If it is too thick, add a little water. This should be a thick soup.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here is my present to you!

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3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cream flour (or regular flour if you don’t have cream flour)
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups grated cheese
1 cup chopped ham

In a large pot, add potatoes, celery, onion, chicken bouillon, water and parsley.

Season with salt and pepper and simmer until vegetables become tender.

In a separate bowl, mix flour an milk.

Once it is well blended, add to soup mixture and cook until soup becomes thick.

Stir in cheese and cooked ham.

Simmer until cheese is melted.

1/2 pound firm white onions, sliced
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons corn oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart beef broth
8 slices French bread
Swiss cheese, shredded
Parmesan, grated

Saute onions in butter and oil until onions are transparent, but not well browned.

When tender, turn heat to lowest point and sprinkle with flour, stirring vigorously.

Pour into Dutch oven and stir in broths.

Heat thoroughly and divide among 8 oven-proof bowls.

Mix equal parts of cheese to smooth paste and spread over bread.

Float a slice of bread atop each serving.

Place all bowls on oven rack 4″ from broiler heat and broil until cheese melts.

Serve at once.

Leftover soup freezes well up to 6 months.