Butternut Squash two ways

I love this squash, but don't cook it often enough because squashes are such a pain to chop. Last week as I was shopping, I found a 2 lb cubed box of butternut. So I brought it home and prepared it two ways the very same night.

Butternut Squash soup with ginger: I modified this recipe by removing shrimps and instead adding the ginger directly to the soup pot. All veggies (squash, garlic, shallots) were oven roasted for convenience. I used whatever herbs I had at hand and once my soup was ready, I added a 1/4 cup cream to it and whipped it. The soup became nice and fluffy (I just mixed cream in with the stick blender that I was using the pureee my soup). Delicious, light, and flavorful.

With the other half of my supply, I made roasted cheesy squash. And you know what, I pretty much followed the recipe to the dot. It helped that it was simple and didn't provide scope for improvisation. And as usual, I didn't have any sage so I tossed in whatever herby things first crossed my path.

Both recipes were fun to eat and kid friendly. Jackpot!