Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

I've had a beautiful butternut squash on my counter for a couple of months now.  I keep meaning to use it, but what with the recent holiday season and hubby being off for two weeks, we mostly ate out (unfortunately for our waistlines as well as our pocketbooks).  The good thing about winter squashes (like butternut and acorn) is that they can keep for quite a while in the pantry if you buy them when they're really fresh.

Normally I just make a straight-forward butternut squash soup, but today I happen to have two beautiful firm Anjou pears in my fruit bowl, and I thought they'd give the soup a delicious sweet twist.  I've also been known to add carrots, sweet potatoes, and whole peas to this recipe (not all at once, though).  If you decide to try other combos, please let me know how they turn out.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large-ish butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• PAM cooking spray
• ground cinnamon
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 firm Anjou pear, seeded and cubed (I left the skin on)
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• plain lowfat Greek yogurt
• a few tablespoons roasted sunflower (or pumpkin) seeds

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray a baking sheet with PAM and place the cubed squash in a single layer on the pan.  Sprinkle lightly with ground cinnamon and TSSS.  Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender.
• In a heated sauté pan, drizzle olive oil and sweat the diced onion.  Add the pear and toss for a few minutes.  
• Add the roasted squash and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the pear is tender.
• Using a stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth (or chunky if you prefer).
• Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds.