Bean and Butternut Soup with Bacon {Crock pot}

This may seem like a good autumn soup, and it is, but it's also a good winter soup. Butternut squash are still widely available in the grocery, and baby, it's cold outside, so it's a good time to make soup. (0 degrees actual temperature here as I write this.)

This soup cooks by itself all day in the crock pot. When you come home after a long day of work, errand running, kid transporting, or what have you, all you need to do is fry up the bacon and blend the soup and a comforting, delicious, and healthy dinner is ready. 

You could definitely add some crusty bread and a big green salad for a well rounded meal. The leftovers of this soup are also delicious; I ate it for lunch for a couple days after serving it for supper. And it's chock full of great veggies.  If you're into sneaking in veggies for your kids' sake (ahem, I speak from experience) then this soup will do that perfectly. 

I do recommend, as the recipe states, that you soak the beans overnight. This is not a difficult step, you just have to remember to do it before you go to bed! 

But when you remember, and then make this soup, you will be rewarded by how good this is after minimal effort. 

Yay, the crock pot, one of my favorite appliance robots.

Bean and Butternut Soup with Bacon

1 pound dried Great Northern beans
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 12 oz. bag frozed riced cauliflower
12 to 16 oz. cubed butternut squash (frozen or fresh)
1 white onion, diced
10 cups water
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
6 slices thick cut bacon

Soak the beans in a large bowl, covered with water, overnight. 

The next day, drain the beans, and add them to the crock pot along with the garlic, cauliflower, squash, onion, water, salt, pepper, onion powder, liquid smoke, soy sauce and cayenne. Cover and cook on high for 6-7 hours, or on low for 12 hours.

 
Just before serving, dice up the bacon and fry until crisp. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to your desired consistency. Keep out a little bacon for garnish, and add the rest to the soup.  Serves 6 to 8.