Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Made this today for a Relief Society super saturday event, and it was delicious!  It would be perfect for any fall/winter party.  It was rich, savory, just a little spicy and a lovely orange color.  It made enough to fill up my big crockpot, so you could probably half the recipe and feed 5 people well.  I adapted this recipe from a number of other recipes I found online.

2 butternut squashes (maybe 2-3 lb. each)
1 onion chopped
4 Tab. butter (or olive oil)
48 oz. chicken broth
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese

Cut squashes lengthwise in half, scoop out seeds.  Place in cookie sheet or baking dish cut sides down and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake at 400* for 45 min to 1 hour (until the squash is soft).  Peel off and discard skins.

While the squash cooks, saute the onion in butter until totally soft and translucent.  I like mine a bit browned for more flavor.  Remove from heat and add spices.

Combine squash, onion, cream cheese and chicken broth in blender (DEFINITELY do this in batches.  The batches can be any combination of the ingredients.  I just made sure there was some of the chicken broth in each batch so it would blend easily.) and puree until smooth.  Return to pot or crockpot and reheat gently if necessary.  Taste for possible salting.  Mine had enough salt from the chicken broth alone - none additional needed.