"John's" Butternut Squash Soup

Submitted by Hanna Davis, the recipe comes from her brother-in-law.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 medium carrot or about 6 of the baby cut carrots, chopped
* 2 medium red potatoes, cubed
* 1 medium or 2 small butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
* 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
* 2 level tsp of minced garlic
* 2 level tsp of garlic salt
* 1/2 level tsp of black pepper
* 1 level tsp of Italian seasoning
* 2 level Tbs of grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Put squash, potatoes, onion, celery and carrots in a 2 quart container. The ingredients should fill the entire container to the top or above.

2. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 to 10 minutes or until it starts to settle in the pan.

3. Pour in the 32 ounces of chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes. Add the minced garlic, garlic salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning during the simmering process and stir occasionally.

4. Transfer the softly cooked ingredients into a blender with a little bit of the soup stock. Either pulsate a few times to create a thicker soup or blend on high for awhile to create a creamier soup.

5. Pour the blended ingredients back into the pan with the soup stock, then add the grated parmesan cheese and bring the soup back to a boil. It is now ready to serve.