One of the better vacations is a ski vacation. My brother just recently moved to Denver and we decided that Winter Park would be the best location for Thanksgiving. Although there hasn't been much snow and the few runs that were open were crowded, it is always fun to be with family and have a good Thanksgiving. Of course, the best part of Thanksgiving is the food. And for our family food is a big part of the whole week. For me, there is nothing better after skiing than good soup. In this case, squash soup.

My squash soup is a combination of a bunch of recipes that I have seen over the years ranging from my mother's to the recipe at this restaurant I worked at in college. I probably over did with all the stuff I put in it, but oh well.

Ingredients:
1-2 Butternut Squash
1 Sweet Potato
1 Carrot
1 Pear
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Big Ass Onion
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 TBSP Fresh Ginger
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme
1 stick of Butter
0.5 TBSP Nutmeg
0.5 TBSP Salt
0.5 TBSP Pepper
0.5 TBSP Corriander
0.5 TBSP Cinnamon
0.5 TBSP Paprika
6-8 Cups Chicken Broth
2 8 ounce Cans of Condensed Skim Milk
1 Cup Dry Nonfat Milk
1/2 Cup Sherry

Serve with:
Parsley or Green Onion
Sour Cream
Oyster Crackers

First, cut the squash in half and scoop out the insides. Than roast the squash and the sweet potato at 425 for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. It is ready when they are soft but not totally mushy.

While those are roasting, dice the onion, chop the apple and pear into small cubes, slice the carrot, mince the garlic and ginger. Fry this all up at low heat in a large sauce pan. Add all the spices and thyme while these are simmering. These should become very soft.

When the potato and squash are done, peel off the skin and chop into small cubes. Then add these to the pot. Let all this simmer for about 20 minutes. Than put everything from the pan into a blender or food processor and blend it all until it is a nice puree. Add it back to the pan, add in the rest of the chicken broth, the condensed milk, the non-fat dry milk, and the sherry. If the consistency is too thick add more chicken broth.

Serve with the green onion or parsley, sour cream and oyster crackers and you've got soup. Most likely, you will have some leftover for when you get off the hills for the rest of the trip.

Enjoy.