Make Your Own: Souper Summer Squash Soup

I got this recipe from Whole Baby Food and just happened to have a humungo sqaush and some zucchini (both homegrown by family!) on the counter, so I was excited to try this.  The recipe says you can puree or leave it, but the chunks looked gross so I pureed. My husband was a little nervous when he saw it on the counter, but did taste it and loved it! YUM!

Here is a Souper Summer Squash Soup – enjoy it with your tiny diner from 7 months+  Puree it if desired or serve with the squash pieces intact depending on how your little one enjoys textures.


Ingredients:
3 medium summer squash (yellow-crocked neck or patty pan) washed and diced into small-ish pieces
3 medium zucchini squash – washed and diced into small-ish pieces
1 medium tomato – roughly diced
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove of garlic
4 or 5 cups of veggie stock (homemade or low sodium commercial – love Pacific Natural brand!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
pepper, basil, oregano and chives
2 drips of lemon juice from a bottle of lemon juice or squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon)

Directions:
In a frying pan with a olive oil, saute onions, tomato and garlic 5-10 minutes until veggies are all a wee bit soft and onion is translucent; remove to a bowl.
Add the stock to the crockpot and turn the crockpot on low
Add the squash to the frying pan and sautee in the remaining oil for about 5 minutes – you’re not cooking the squash, just softening up a wee bit and allowing the flavors from the oil (tomato, garlic & onions) to seep into the squash
Now add the squash and the remaining veggies to the crockpot along with the pepper and oregano (to your taste preference) – cook for about 1 hour until squash pieces have reached a texture you like.  Add the lemon juice and basil during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Stir frequently and once soup is done to your tastes, serve warm or, allow to cool a bit and then puree.  If pureeing, you may want to then warm the soup back up prior to serving.  This is great cold too!  Serve the soup with crusty bread and chicken salad on a bed of lettuce for a quick light meal that even baby can partake of.

*Taste often as summer squash may turn a wee bit bitter if you are leaving the skins on the squash – you may peel if desired but there really should be no need if you are using fresh squash.   You could also add 1/2 cup of rinsed brown rice or even lentils to this 1/2 way through the cooking.