Potato Leek Soup for One

What do you do with leftover potatoes and leeks? Potato leek soup, of course!

After my quick trip east, I wanted something fast, easy and comforting for dinner. I thought roasting the potatoes and leeks would add a little more oomph to the soup and if I had some chicken apple sausage leftover, I totally would have browned up some bits to sprinkle on top.

Wow. My soup is the same color as my bowl. Oops.

Potato Leek Soup

3 potatoes, cut into uniform pieces

2 small leeks, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 c low sodium chicken broth

1/4 c soy milk

1/4 c skim milk

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp hot sauce

1/2 tbsp pepper

Heat oven to 375. Toss potatoes, leeks and olive oil and spread out onto a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. 

As potatoes and leeks are roasting, bring 3/4 c chicken broth, soy milk and skim milk to a rolling boil in a medium pot. Add leeks, potatoes and hot sauce; bring back up to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Stir in salt to taste and remove from heat. 

Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender, adding remaining 1/4 c broth to thin soup out as necessary. Serve immediately.

April ingredients used:  leeks, potatoes

Not bad for a quickie soup. I've got soup saved for the next couple of days...just enough that I won't get sick of it. Feel free to add more hot sauce if you like a little more kick in your soup. Just make sure it doesn't turn too orange ;p

Leafy Lentil Soup

Lately I've had soup on the brain so it seemed only natural I use a bunch of the greens I snagged at the farmers' market in a big vat o soup. This is a slight variation on another lentil soup I made and I think it's more than slightly better. I don't know if it was the chicken apple sausage or the Red Russian kale (or a combination of both?) that made the soup slightly sweet, but it was delicious! Enjoy!

Leafy Lentil Soup

2 c green lentils

2 links chicken apple sausage, chopped

3 small leeks, thinly sliced

1 carrot, sliced into thin disks

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tomato, diced

1 bay leaf

2 c kale, coarsely chopped

1 c Red Russian kale, coarsely chopped

1 c rapini, coarsely chopped

6 c low sodium chicken broth

2 tsp salt

2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 tbsp hot sauce

Heat butter and olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Saute sausage for 4-5 minutes or until they start to brown. Stir in leeks and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrot and tomato, cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt, pepper, hot sauce, bay leaf and lentils and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add greens and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

March ingredients used: carrots, kale, leek, rapini

BSI and a Souper dinner

Hi all! Be sure to hop on over to Travel Eat Love for this week's Blogger Secret Ingredient...it's a yummy one!

The no-contest winner of BSI Tofu is Biz from Biggest Diabetic Loser - check out her creation here! Shoot me an email (runbeansrun@gmail.com) with your address and bag choice and I'll pop your prize in the mail!

I took a break from regularly scheduled cooking to sample something I've been intrigued by for quite some time. The Soupergirl! I've heard about her over the past year or so and I've always been curious about all the soups she makes. Basically it's a dynamic mother/daughter duo from the DC area that make homemade yummy soups from local and organic ingredients. Their soups are also 100% vegetarian.

They offer two soups a week (a hearty soup and a puree soup) and you place your order online for either delivery or pick up. Pints are $6.75 and VERY filling. Quarts are $12.75.

I snagged a pint of Jamaican Me Crazy Sweet Potato Soup (sweet potatoes, orange and lime juice, coconut milk, curry and other spices, dark rum) for tonight's dinner and while I really loved the idea of all those ingredients together, I was a little weary about the fact that it was a creamy soup (I'm not a big creamy soup fan). I took the plunge and nuked it up.

Initial thoughts? Excellent texture. Perfect thickness and I loved the itty bits of ginger and (maybe?) zest. I immediately tasted the lime juice and LOVED it with the other flavors. The acidity/tanginess is very apparent, but it's not at all overpowering. It was VERY rich, but what else do you expect from a potato soup with coconut milk? I think I'd eat this soup again in a smaller portion - maybe 1/4 or 1/2 a pint? Definitely not as a whole dinner...too rich for me.

Overall thoughts? I may see what else Soupergirl has to offer in the coming months! I really love that combination of ginger, orange and lime with the other ingredients - totally unexpected. The soups are a bit pricey for pints and quarts, but definitely worth checking out if you find a soup that sounds interesting! FYI - next week's chili sounds DEEELIIISSSHH.

More tomorrow - crashing super early so I can get up and run/walk in an empty gym!

Fancy pants

Since I started the day off with an oh-so-classic PB&J, I figured why not continue the fun kiddy meals for dinner? On the menu - Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. :)

For the longest time, I thought grilled cheese was a Kraft Single between two slices of bread and stuck in the toaster oven. That's just how we did it in our house. It wasn't until college that I learned that making a grilled cheese did not involve a toaster oven, but butter and a pan. Hm. When I discovered the George Foreman, I decided a making a grilled cheese did not involve a toaster oven OR butter OR a pan. All I needed was the Foreman, bread and my Kraft Single. :) How do you make your grilled cheese?
Now, I do love a good Kraft Single here and there, but I saw this package of sliced Gouda tonight and had to have it. I also snuck in some leftover baby spinach because I love my leafy greens.
MMM Cheesy, spinach-y goodness! It actually would have been a little better with one slice of gouda and one Kraft Single (no imitations, please).

For the tomato soup, I wasn't going fancy at all - HAD to be a can of Campbell's. Threw in some frozen mixed veggies, some hot sauce and my tastebuds and belly were happy :)
Oh, and I may have used a tablespoon of cocktail sauce just because. :p

Dessert was some more Haribo gummy bears - I'll probably eat them until I get sick of them...that's just how it goes. And a mug of this
I drank the last of our non-caffeinated tea this morning so I thought I'd give this a shot. It was on sale at the Giant and I do love a hint of fruit in my tea. Verdict? It kinda smelled like an apple soap we got in Grenada, but thankfully it didn't taste like it. I think it might be good on ice!

Off to bed! Hopefully I can sweat some of the sick out during my run tomorrow evening!