It’s finally feeling like soup season, and we’re here for it. This week’s plan has five recipes we’ve made and loved: butternut squash soup, a lighter lasagna that feeds a crowd, Korean beef tacos with a slow cooker option, steak sandwiches with an aioli worth the extra step, and make-ahead apple muffins.
Here’s how we’d order the week: soup first (it’s below!) since it’s easy and reheats well. Put the tacos on your busiest day so the slow cooker does the work, save the lasagna for a night you want leftovers, and the steak sandwiches for when you have 25 minutes and no patience. Bake the muffins on the weekend to make your mornings easier. One tip: make (or buy!) a single jar of pickled onions, because they show up as toppings on the soup, tacos, and sandwiches.
DINNER #1: Butternut Squash Soup | Total time: 50 minutes | Serves 6-8 | chop, simmer, blend
The Gimme Some Oven Butternut Squash Soup is in heavy rotation for our crew in the fall and winter. You chop a bunch of produce, then just simmer it in broth. You can use bone broth for more protein if you want. And it calls for ½ cup of coconut milk, but we often dump the whole can in so that we don’t have to find something else to do with a partial can of coconut milk. The toppings are what make this soup nearly perfect. Taylor’s favorites are pickled onions, roasted pepitas, and ground sausage, but you can do any variety you want! Serve with a bagged kale salad for a good soup and salad vibe.
Notes: There are a bunch of variations listed in the recipe that are a fun spin if you are looking for something a little different. We love the Thai version!
Work ahead: Pickled onions would be great in this soup, but also in two other meals this week. Might be worth making a jar of these and having them on hand! You could also double the sausage and use it in the lasagna if you like!
