Amber Pollard

January is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Sadly it's also a time of goodbyes and see you laters. For me, it means one of my favorite neighborhood restaurant's famous butternut squash soup will soon be going into hibernation until next fall.

To make the transition a little easier this year, I plan on freezing my own squash and making my own squashy deliciousness! I couldn't convince the local mom-and-pop eatery to let me have a peek at their recipe, so I resorted to the internets and found a unique and healthy compromise. Try this Butternut Squash And Pear Soup courtesy of Cheap, Healthy, Good.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 pears, peeled and chopped into roughly 1 inch pieces
• 1 quart (4 cups) low sodium chicken (or veggie) stock, or enough to cover
• dash of pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg or cinnamon
• salt, freshly ground black pepper and granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high until melted. Drop heat to medium, add onions and cook until soft and a little translucent. Add squash and pears and sweat for another 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add stock and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until squash is tender.
3. You can use an immersion blender if you have one. If not, process half the batch in a normal blender until smooth (careful here, it may spill over). Remove and process the other half. Add both halves back into the pot.
4. Season with spice, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. For a unique twist, try substituting a sprig of rosemary instead of the spices.

Serves: 9 (approx. 191 calories, 6.4 g fat per serving).