Creamy Cod Soup with Butternut Squash and Thyme

Tonight I decided to give a recipe I found a while back...I don't cook seafood much so I was worried I would mess it up or I wouldn't like it. Let me tell you this was so delicious! I was sweet from the squash and wasn't too fishy either.

Creamy Cod and Butternut Squash Soup

serves 4    Prep 20 MIN Cook 35 MIN

1 package thick cut bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 tbsp. fresh thyme

1 small butternut squash-peeled, seeded, and diced

1 1/2 tbsp flour

3 1/2 C veggie stock

1/2 C clam Juice

1 lb. skinless cod fillets, cut into large pieces

1 C heavy cream

1 crusty loaf of bread for dipping

A pinch of cayenne

hot sauce if desired 

1. In a large pot cook the bacon until crispy.  Add the onion, celery, and fresh thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies are tender.  Stir in the squash and flour and cook, stirring until the flour starts to brown.  Stir in the stock and clam juice and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to med-low and simmer until the squash is tender.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the cod, cover and simmer until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork, about 5 min.  Stir in the cream and cayenne.  
3. Toast the bread in the oven.
4. Serve with the tasty bread and ENJOY!

B really enjoyed and so did everyone else who ate it!  I hope you all like it.

About Me

Hi! I'm Ashley. I am a stay at home mom to 3 beautiful children. I've been with my husband for almost 11 years.  We met my JR year of high school. He is 2 years older than me and I had lost all confidence in myself.  He showed me otherwise.  He was always there for me, even when we were broken up for 2 months.  He took me to school every morning even when he didn't get much sleep the night before due to his work schedule.  He wanted to make sure I got there safe and didn't have to stand in the cold and snow in the winter. He got me a promise ring for out first year anniversary. I found out I was pregnant at the end of my SR year of high school. He was right by my side when I told my parents and he was at every doctors apt holding my hand. He was there when I screamed because I knew out son would be arriving 13 weeks early.  He was at the hospital everyday in the NICU for 58 days while we watched our son become healthy and strong and beat the odds. They told us numerous times that our son would have CP due to grade 4 brain bleeds, he had sepsis and told us to prepare for the worst, and they said he was having trouble gaining weight and was losing weight(we found out the scale was broken on his bed, when he dirtied his incubator when  the RN was changing his diaper). He doesn't have CP and he is ALIVE! He is now 8 years old and in Advanced learner classes. He plays soccer and LOVES building with is LEGOS.  He has asthma due to his prematurity. He had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed and he also had to have a PDA surgically repaired.

We have had 2 more children full term.  I found out I had incompetent cervix and had to have a cerclage with both of the pregnancies. My daughter is 5 and  loves soccer and hanging out with her older brother. She loves to sing and dance just as much as she likes to get dirty! My youngest son is almost 3 and he LOVES all sports especially soccer and basketball.  He is a rough and tumble kind of boy for sure and a bit more daring than I want.  He keeps me on the edge of my seat.  He likes to get on his brother's skateboard and ride it more than him and try to do "tricks."  This boy make me a nervous wreck but I love him for it.  I love the family that God has blessed me with and I hope you will follow us on our journey.

Self Criticism

I have been on a journey the past 2 years to love myself, no matter my flaws and to become a healthier, happier version of my true self.  It has been a roller coaster.  I have hated myself because of my weight since I was a teenager.  I have lost almost 50 lbs in 2 years. Its much better than gaining weight.  I want my children to know me as the mom who does things with them, goes to soccer games and is the loudest one yelling for them to do their best, and I want them to have confidence in themselves even when they are not the best.  I now am confident in this journey. I will not criticize myself over my weight any longer. I will be confident in myself because even though I'm not the size I want to be this body held 3 babies in it, even though one was born at 27 weeks, and nourished them and gave them life. I will be proud of who I am and not be embarrassed and stay in the house and hide. I am going to go outside and enjoy my life with my family! I want my daughter to know how to love herself and never be ashamed of who she is no matter her size. I want my sons to know that telling a girl/woman she is fat because you don't agree with her size is unacceptable because women already judge themselves harshly enough.  Women need love and encouragement from their husbands not criticism: we do that enough to ourselves. The picture I am posting is one I would have deleted last year as soon as a saw it but its of my everyday, taking care of my babies. I would have criticized my belly and rolls but you know what my kids don't care about that. This shows the love I have for them and a simple moment between my son and I at his last soccer game.

 These are the moments I want to remember and I want him to remember; the simple ones:mom zipping my jacket because I have on goalie gloves, being read t at night, mom screaming so loud it was embarrassing(almost), and the love I gave.