Butternut Soup With Pears And Apples

• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 4 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup chopped peeled braeburn apple
• 1 cup chopped peeled Anjou pear
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add in onion and celery; stir/saute for 4 minutes or until tender.
3. Add in squash and the next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil.
4. Partially cover, lower heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until tender.
5. Throw out bay leaf.
6. Transfer half of squash mixture to the container of a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
7. Pour puree into a bowl; repeat procedure with the remaining squash mixture.
8. Return all puree mixture to soup pot; stir in syrup.
9. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until well heated.
10. **Could use stick blender in soup pot instead of pureeing in blender.

butter, onion, celery, water, braeburn apple, pear, apple juice, salt, black pepper, vegetable broth, bay leaf, maple syrup

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/butternut-soup-with-pears-and-apples-135204 (may not work)