Tuscan Chicken, Bean and Spinach Soup

Good soup. I was a bit skeptical of the butternut squash, but it was really good in the soup (my husband even liked it!). Other than cooking the bacon, this comes together quickly and easily. I might suggest bacon bits of some sort to avoid dirtying a pan for two strips of bacon.

I made this pretty much true to the recipe. I'm out of vegetable stock, so I used all chicken stock. The way the recipe is written is confusing, so I sauteed all of the vegetables together. ("Add onion & next 4 ingredients through garlic." But the garlic is listed before the onion.???) I used chard from the garden instead of spinach, and dark meat instead of white. Left off the bacon & cheese to compensate in terms of fat. Salt is essential, especially if your stock has no sodium. Very tasty and makes over 3 1/2 Qts. Served with homemade crusty bread & salad.

I made this soup and love it! I skipped the bacon and cheese and added a bit extra salt. I'll definitely make it again.