1. First, peel the butternut squash and remove the soft insides containing the seeds. Cube the remaining butternut meat. Remove the papery outside of the onion and give that a rough chop.
2. In a crock pot combine the squash, onion, garlic cloves, sage (or bay leaves), salt, pepper, cayenne, and vegetable stock. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8. Every crock pot is a little bit different, so it’s best to keep an eye on this the first time you make it. The goal is simply to cook the vegetables until they are so soft then can easily be mashed with a fork. But you don’t want to cook so long that all the liquid is gone and the vegetables begin to dry out.
3. Remove the sage or bay leaves and use an immersion blender or regular blender and puree the mixture. It should be a like a thick soup at this point.
4. Cook the noodles according to the package directions (7-8 minutes in boiling water). Drain and add those along with the cheese and cream cheese to the pot. Give that a few stirs and allow the cream cheese to melt and everything to get well coated.
5. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if you prefer.
6. Enjoy!

Recipe credit: A Beautiful Mess. Check it out now, complete with tons of great pictures now!

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