As I’ve mentioned before, I love fall. Not only do I love the pumpkin and pumpkin beers that come with fall, but I also love butternut squash and hot soups on cold days. Today was pretty cold, so I decided it was a soup night. And why not have soup with butternut squash?

At first I was reading a bunch of different stew recipes, but in the end I just decided to wing it, to go with my gut. And in the end, my gut was happy. (Bear with me with the pictures. This is my first venture into photographing my recipes. Any comments or critiques would be much appreciated.)

Squash and Sausage Stew

Serves 4

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 sweet Italian sausages (turkey or pork) [I left the sausages whole for portion control sake, but you can slice them after you brown them if you want]
• 2 hot Italian sausages (turkey or pork)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 medium russet potato, cubed
• 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (Trader Joe’s sells pre-washed, peeled, and cubed squash. So easy)
• 1 cup white beans
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 4 cups baby arugula
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

the browned sausages, broth, and carrots

arugula, potato, squash, beans, carrots sneaking in there

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, brown the sausages on all four sides. This will take about 10 minutes. Once browned, remove the sausages from the pot and set aside.

Reduce heat in pot to medium. Add onion and cook until translucent. Don’t burn them!

Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil.

all ingredients in pot

boil, baby, boil

Once boiling, reintroduce the sausages to the mix. Lower heat to medium-low, still keeping the soup at a light boil.

sausage, back in action

Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, or until the squash is soft.

Make sure to taste and add salt as needed. This recipe will need it.

the stew with my favorite drink ever (raspberry lime seltzer)

Enjoy!