Day 4: butternut squash soup from a jar

This is Day 4 of my own pantry challenge, seven days of dinners from the jars on my shelves. Yesterday was beef vindaloo with white rice.

Tonight was supposed to be chicken tikka masala, but when I went to make it, there was no chicken in the house! So the menu got swapped. That's real pantry life ;)

Tonight's jar: my home-canned butternut squash cubes, canned on September 20, 2025.

Tonight's dinner

I opened the jar and tipped the cubes and the liquid from the jar into a pot. Then I blended it all with a stick blender, heated it up and added just a pinch of salt. That's it!

I served it with a dollop of Greek yogurt, some croutons from bread I fried up, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. And a piece of homemade naan on the side, from the big batch I baked for the freezer today ;)

Why I can squash in cubes

Squash is only safely canned in cubes, in a pressure canner, never as a purée or mashed. So I always blend it into soup after I open the jar. Here's how I can mine: Harvesting pumpkins and canning butternut squash for winter soup.

Jars I used

1 pint jar of butternut squash cubes

Before you open a jar

Check the seal and look for spoilage before using any home-canned jar. More in A beginner's guide to safe home canning, Home canning and botulism and Home canning altitude adjustments.

Tomorrow: chicken tikka masala