Sometimes Using up Your Fridge Contents Results in a Scrumptious Soup

An Instant Pot is handy for cooking up soup. (Kary Osmond)

I’m in the process of getting ready to put my house up for sale, which means I’m trying to bring less stuff into the house and use up what I have. This includes the food in the fridge, and right now I have a butternut squash, a few onions, carrots, potatoes, and some garlic—all the ingredients to make a tasty soup.

I’m using my Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) to make this soup so I don’t need to babysit it while it simmers away. All the ingredients go in for a quick sauté and then it’s locked and loaded until the buzzer goes off. If you have a hand blender, you can blend the soup right in the pot; if not, transfer the soup in batches and blend in a food processor or blender.

Herbed Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 4

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Lemon juice

Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” and add oil and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add butternut squash, carrot, potato, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano and stir to combine.

Secure lid and set pressure release to sealing. Select the pressure cook setting to high pressure and set the cook time for 12 minutes.

Once the 12-minute timer has completed and beeped, allow a natural pressure release.

Open the pot, use an immersion blender directly in the instant pot to blend the soup until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Tasty Tips

Butternut squash can be tricky to peel and cut. To do so, make sure you have a sharp knife. I like to start by trimming off the top and bottom to give me a flat edge. Then cut the neck off. Use a knife or sharp peeler to peel away the skin and scoop the seeds out with a big spoon.

Kary Osmond is a Canadian recipe developer and former television host of the popular daytime cooking show “Best Recipes Ever.” Her easy recipes include helpful tips to guide you along the way, and her love of plant-based cooking offers healthy alternatives to some of your favorite dishes. Learn more at KaryOsmond.com. Copyright 2021 Kary Osmond. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.