Pumpkin Soup

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic

Put ingredients in a soup pan or stock pot and saute until the veggies are tender.

Add 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth and 4 cups of cubed fresh pumpkin or other squash of your choice with 1/4 tsp of dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme. Increase heat to high until soup boils. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Using an immersion or standard blender, blend until smooth. Return to pan, salt and pepper to taste and serve.

If you like to spice things up, add some red pepper flakes before boiling. It is also good with a few croutons and some shredded cheese thrown on the top.

Leftover Factor:  This soup is wonderful to freeze for lunches or a quick dinner. It loses no flavor in the freezer at all.