This is a fantastic soup recipe from Maureen Witmer. We tried it out with a few adjustments, and loved it! It's warm and satisfying, and has a great balance of flavors from the various vegetables and spices, but is also surprisingly easy to make.

We could only find 2 pounds of butternut squash when we made the recipe, so we substituted a 1 lb. acorn squash for the remainder. We also had a summer squash from a neighbor's garden that we used instead of the zucchini. Most winter squash (and summer squash) are interchangeable, so feel free to try something different if you see something interesting at the store.

If you want to make this recipe vegetarian as well as gluten-free, all you have to do is make sure you use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth or stock. Hope you like it!

Peel the squash, carrots, and onions and chop them roughly (the summer squash doesn't need to be peeled unless you want to).

Maureen suggests boiling the butternut squash for 20-30 minutes to make it easier to peel.

Saute the onions and carrots with the butter in a large pot, followed after 5 minutes by the squash. Add the salt, pepper and thyme, then the broth, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat, then simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Remove the soup from heat. Using a regular stand blender, or an immersion blender if you have one, puree the soup evenly until it's very smooth. We had an immersion blender and thought it worked really well, but remember if you're using a normal blender to cover the jar and be careful of the hot liquid.

Bring the soup back up to heat and add the cream and milk, being careful not to let the soup boil again (it can curdle the dairy).

Ladle into bowls and garnish with the chives and parmesan, and serve. Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 6-8

*This recipe makes a lot. Hopefully enough for the person you're taking a meal to and you, depending on the size of your family.