Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

More autumnal recipes!  I'm all about fresh, local, and organic ingredients (as I'm sure you know by now) and just bought a bunch of apples and squash for making baby food.  And again, I had plenty of leftovers, so I decided to come up with another fall soup.  Like my Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup recipe, this recipe is pretty simple in terms of number of ingredients and directions.
I looked around at a few different websites, and found a few different recipes for squash and apple soup.  Inspiration came from recipes by Food Network's Ina Garten and Emeril Lagasse.
I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash, Halved Lengthwise, Seeds/pulp removed
2 Apples (Granny Smith, McIntosh are good, but I actually used Fuji)

2 Cups Chicken Stock

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp. Minced Onion
1 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Black Pepper
Sour Cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place squash halves, skin side up, in glass baking dish.  Pour water, so about 1" sits in dish.  Place in oven for 40-50 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2.   Meanwhile, peel and core apples.  Slice and place in stockpot with chicken stock.  Set aside.
3.  In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the minced garlic and onion.  Cook about 4-5 minutes.

3.  Add the onion and garlic mixture to the stockpot.  Bring to boil and stir for about 5-7 minutes, or until apples are tender.  Reduce heat to low.  Add in chili powder and black pepper.

4.  Remove squash from oven, flip squash over and scrape out the "meat."  Add all of the squash to the apple stockpot mixture.  Discard squash skins.
5.  Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the ingredients (you may need to work in batches).

Serve warm with a spoonful of sour cream in the middle.  Enjoy!

Freezer-Friendly:  You can also put this soup in dated/labeled freezer-bags and store in your freezer for up to 3 months.