Greetings from a snow bound food blogger! I do not feel like I often tell you Stop what you are doing – you have to make this recipe. But tonight, yeah, I am sort of telling you that is exactly what you need to do.

For Christmas I received a fantastic cookbook by one of my favorites – Ina Garten from one of my life long best friends. (She knows me so well and knows how much I love a great cookbook!) In the book there is an amazing recipe for minestrone soup. I have been doing a lot of traveling during the holiday season, and all of the sudden on New Year’s Eve I realized I did not have the cookbook with me. So I took out my trusty iPhone and googled “minestrone soup + Ina Garten” and thank goodness, I found an amazing recipe!

Here is what I need you to make tonight! Ina Garten’s Winter Minestrone Soup

Why do I love this recipe? It is full of vegetables and I just love the addition of butternut squash soup! It’s a fantastic addition and really gives this soup a fantastic flavor and a new take on minestrone. I also love the addition of the spinach, pesto and white wine. Ahh… Ina is one of my culinary heroes!

I made this soup the day before a serious Nor’easter was forecasted to hit the Northeast. I couldn’t think of anything better than a nice, hearty soup to eat during a snow storm! I started peeling the butternut squash first:

After the squash, I chopped one and a half onions, celery and peeled and chopped three carrots.

This soup was the firs thing I was making in one of my Christmas gifts – a beautiful new Le Creuset:

I just love this beautiful color, and it goes really well with my kiwi green Le Creuset that I already own. There is nothing like the smell of onions sautéing in olive oil in the Le Creuset, I’m telling you!

The soup came together really easily and it was very simple – but it produced very complex and amazing flavors! It was a huge hit in our house and it was perfect for us since we were snowed in for two days!

My finished dish was beautiful and delicious.

If you are stuck in a winter rut, snowed in or just freezing your butt off – put down what you are doing – throw off your blanket – and get into the kitchen to make this minestrone soup! You will not be sorry for putting in the extra effort – you will love it!