Winter Featured Recipe

During those long winter months when the wind is howling and the snow is blowing, I have a secret weapon in my fridge at all times to keep my family going. It's nothing covert or high tech. It's actually rather old school. My secret weapon is a big vat of roasted vegetable soup. There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup with nutrients and vitamins on a cold winter day.

Prep Time: 15 minutes • Cook Time: 2 hours • Level: Medium

I make a new batch every Sunday. I vary it from week to week depending on which vegetables look good at the supermarket. I like to roast the vegetables to bring out the flavors. I'll also always throw in something sweet like apples, pears or sweet potatoes to please my littlest customers. I add no cream and very little fat, and it always seems magical to me how creamy and filling the soup tastes.

Most weekdays, soup is on the menu for lunch. My husband packs it in a thermos to bring to work while my 3 year old and I enjoy it at home. My elementary school aged kids are the only holdouts; they think soup at school is just embarrassing. My three year old loves vegetable soup so much that she sometimes requests it for dinner too and insists on referring to any flavor as "pum'kin soup." I love to see her with a big orange mustache.

To jazz things up a bit for myself, I like to serve my bowl of soup with some Club Crackers topped with a blue cheese spread. I love how the tanginess of the blue cheese sets off the creaminess of the soup. I always leave the table thoroughly satisfied, ready to make snowmen, go sledding or have a snowball fight.

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, peeled and finely diced
• 2 squashes (such as butternut, buttercup or acorn), halved
• 2 sweet potatoes, pierced with a fork
• 3 to 4 cups of chicken stock (vegetable stock can be substituted)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut squashes in half and place cut side up on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Pierce sweet potato half a dozen times with a fork and place on same baking sheet. Roast in oven for 45 minutes to an hour until squash and sweet potatoes are soft. One may cook faster than the other.
3. Dice the onion, carrot, and celery.
4. In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer sautéed vegetables to slow cooker.
6. Once squash and sweet potato are done roasting, scoop out their soft flesh and add to slow cooker.
7. Add in the chicken stock to cover the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Set the slow cooker to high and simmer for an hour.
8. Pour the contents of the slow cooker in a blender and liquefy. Then taste and season one last time. The soup will keep for 5 to 6 days in the refrigerator.

Blue Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup of whipped cream cheese
• ¼ cup of crumbled blue cheese
• 1 box of Keebler^® Club^® Crackers

Directions

1. Place both cheeses in a small bowl. Mash together with a fork.
2. Spread cheese on to crackers.

This recipe was submitted by a Keebler^® Club^® Crackers fan. Keebler^® Club^® Crackers do not test or endorse any of the recipes submitted by users.