Creamy Pumpkin Soup

'Tis the season for all things pumpkin! I have two super scrumptious pumpkin recipes to share with y'all and I was originally going to smash them together into one post because smashing is fun to do. Especially smashing pumpkins. For realz yo, I had to smash a pumpkin for one of these recipes. Don't believe me? Read on, skeptical but intrigued readers, read on. Anyway, I decided to make two separate posts for these recipes since they are both awesome and both a little bit long. So... here's numero uno!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

I recently had a friend ask me if I had a recipe for pumpkin soup, which was a great motivation for me to get one together! I had made similar soups before (butternut squash, potato, etc.) but never a pumpkin soup specifically. So I figured I'd try my hand at pumpkin soup and see what happened. Turns out, it turned out super yummy. This recipe made enough for my hubs and I to each have two big bowls and put a lot away into the freezer as well. So here we go:


Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups pure pureed pumpkin (yay for alliteration!) - either canned or fresh
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter/oil
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (fresh is best)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
topping:
1 cup sour cream
1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley or chives
3 bacon strips or 1 spicy sausage link - cooked and crumbled

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, saute garlic and butter over medium heat until fragrant and tender. Add potatoes, hit it with some S&P and saute until the potatoes are nice and tender.
2. Set some potatoes aside (you'll add them later for a bit of texture). Take the rest of the potato/onion/garlic deliciousness and puree it in a blender until smooth. Return to saucepan.
3. Add broth, milk, pumpkin and seasonings. Stir and continue cooking until it's hot, creamy and delicious. The dairy will thicken as you continue to heat it. Feel free to spice it to your liking. If you like a sweeter soup, omit the cayenne and add some extra cinnamon and a bit of ginger. If you like it spicier, heavy-hand the cayenne and add some ground cloves. This is your soup, you know what you like. Taste it as you cook it and add what you need! Don't wait till it's on the table to taste it for the first time :P
4. Towards the end of the process, add your potatoes from earlier back in. Like I said, this adds a bit of texture to the soup. Of course if you're going for a completely smooth texture, you'd puree all the potatoes :)
5. To serve, fill up your bowls, do a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with your parsley/bacon or chive/sausage... or whatever alternative you've chosen! (turkey bacon, vegetarian bacon, chorizo, etc.)
6. Enjoooooooy!

Mine was topped with sour cream, chives, chorizo and homemade crackers!
Soooooo good :)

Stay tuned for recipe #2 - my first ever dessert post on this blog!!!