Ingredients
- 4 quarts winter squash (cushaw, Hubbard, butternut, etc.), peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 pound bacon, fried crisp
- Hot chicken broth
- Salt
Directions
- Lightly coat squash in olive oil with onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and roast at 425 F for 5 to 10 minutes. Squash won’t be completely done.
- Crumble up bacon, and gently mix with squash (don’t mash).
- Gently place mixture into hot jars. Don’t press down. Fill jars full of solids to 1 inch headspace. Add hot chicken broth to 1 inch headspace and add 1⁄2 teaspoon salt to each quart, or 1⁄4 teaspoon salt to each pint. Remove air bubbles. Process at 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes for quarts, or 75 minutes for pints.
- To serve: pour contents into a large saucepan and purée with an immersion blender. Heat and add shredded cheese, cream cheese, or sour cream, and garnish with diced green onions. Serve hot with biscuits or cornbread.
Roasted Squash Soup with Bacon is a creamy, healthy, and satisfying meal that’s perfect for a quick and easy dinner on chilly nights.
There are five recipes in this series, be sure to follow the links for the others: 16-Bean Chili, Chicken Pot Pies in a Jar, Hamburger and Potato Soup, and Canned BBQ Chicken.
General Instructions for Canning Roasted Squash Soup with Bacon
- Carefully read the manual for your pressure canner.
- You can reuse rings and jars, but don’t reuse lids.
- Wash jars, rings, lids, and jar lifter with hot, soapy water, and then rinse them.
- Check all jars for damage. Discard any jars with chips or cracks.
- Keep jars hot (you’ll be adding hot ingredients and won’t want the jars to break under thermal shock).
- Add the amount of water indicated by your pressure canner instructions to the canner. You should have 2 to 3 inches of water in the canner. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to minimize any water spotting on the jars.
After pressure canning, remove the jars (which will still be hot) and place them on a towel to finish cooling. This can take from 12 to 24 hours. Once at room temperature, remove the rings, finger-test the seals to make sure they’re tight, and eat anything that hasn’t sealed immediately. The rest can be stored in a dark, cool place for up to a year.
Tips and Safety When Canning Roasted Squash Soup with Bacon
With each canning recipe, keep a few things in mind. When filling your jars, fill them evenly with solids, and add liquid to the required headspace. (Headspace is the distance between the surface of the food and the underside of the lid.) Don’t mash or purée foods that’ll be canned. Gently place the food in jars. Add very hot liquid (boiling or having just been boiled) after your solids. Broth or hot water will work. Remove bubbles from the jar with your utensil before topping with lids and rings. Don’t add too many spices or spices that tend to become bitter (such as sage) before canning; you can always add those when you’re reheating meals. Before adding the lids, wipe the rims with a vinegar-dampened cloth to remove grease. Place the hot lids on top, and finger-tighten the rings. Then, put jars on the rack inside the hot canner with the vent port off, tighten down the lid, and turn the heat to high. Allow steam to escape from the port for 10 minutes before you replace the weighted gauge. Wait for the canner to come to the recommended pressure before you start timing and pressurizing.
Read the manual for your pressure canner. It’ll give you the pressure and time requirements based on your canner and altitude. If you’re new to pressure canning, check out the resources on Page 52 to help you get started for canning effectively and safely before jumping into these recipes.
Jenny Underwood is a home-schooling mama to four lively blessings. She makes her home in the rural foothills of the Ozark Mountains with her husband of 20 years. You can find her reading a good book, drinking coffee, and gardening on their small fifth-generation homestead. She blogs at www.InconvenientFamily.com.
