How To: Butternut Squash Soup

I volunteered to make a soup for a church activity recently only to realize that I didn't really have many soup recipes that would suit the event. My husband suggested trying a butternut squash recipe, which sounded perfect for November. But after trying this recipe (don't try it, the proportions are all wrong and it isn't any good), and it was a complete fail, I was wondering what I would do. I bought another squash and started googling recipes. After reading over several and getting the basic idea of how I wanted my soup to be, I decided to try my hand at creating my own and to my delight, it actually turned out quite yummy. So, I am sharing the recipe with you too.

Ingredients:

1 2-3 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 gala apples, peeled and diced
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium heat in large dutch oven. Sauté onions in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. 
2. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to onions, sauté one minute more. 
3. Add squash, apples, brown sugar and broth. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer until squash and apples are tender, about 30 minutes. 
4. Strain soup, reserving 3-4 cups of broth. 
5. Pour strained ingredients into blender, add one cup milk and puree. 
6. Pour puree back into dutch oven, add reserved broth, a little at a time, until soup reaches desired consistency. 
7. Heat through and season to taste with salt and black pepper. 
8. Serve with cinnamon sugar toast. Enjoy.