Attention soup lovers! Pacific® Foods has your back this fall/winter with their line of flavorful soups and soup starters. No more boring soup for lunch! You can either keep it super simple and buy some of their ready-to-eat soups, or go semi-homemade like I did in my recipe for Southwestern Roasted Squash Soup featuring the Tortilla Soup Starter.
To keep things interesting, I threw in some roasted butternut squash, which is one of my favorite fall fruits (yes, it is a fruit). Just one cup of butternut squash delivers half of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C—helps keep the immune system in tip-top shape! This gourd is also an excellent source of beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body, and helps prevent age-related macular degeneration. Typically, I forgo pre-cut vegetables and fruits, but in this case, I’m all for packaged butternut squash cubes. Such a time saver and the quality is just as good in my opinion. If you choose to buy a fresh butternut squash instead, I would suggest using a vegetable peeler to remove skin, and then cut into uniform cubes.
Ingredients
2 cups butternut squash cubes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Chili powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 carton Pacific® Tortilla Soup Starter
1/2 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Cilantro (optional)
Plain, non-fat greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
Shredded Mexican-style cheese
