Sunday is Soup Day

    Last week was a doozy and I after all of the cooking I did on Halloween, I was all cooked out!  Needless to say, it was a slow week in my kitchen.  I had to rally today in order to throw something together for lunch this week.  I did a quick google (from my bed, on my phone) in order to find a new soup to try this week.  After a few batches of Butternut Squash Soup, I've been keeping my eye out for something new each week.  Last Sunday I made potato leek soup in the crock pot from a recipe I found online.  It was simple and a bit bland but I liked it.  Here is the recipe:

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

• 4 medium leeks, hairy root end trimmed and thinly sliced, white only to make about 4 cups

• 4 medium to large russet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 4 to 6 cups water, vegetable or chicken broth, to cover I used water

• Salt, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

Place the leeks and potatoes in the cooker.  Add the water or broth to the pot, just to cover.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours, until the potatoes are tender.  Using a hand held immersion blender or transferring to a food processor or blender in batches, purée the soup.  Taste for salt and add the butter.  Ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve immediately with fresh French bread.

    Today's soup was Carrot and Sweet Potato.  Just like the potato leek soup, it had just a handful of ingredients and it was very simple to make.  It also made a lot of soup...12 cups.  That means I have lots to share!

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons  butter, divided I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of Smart Balance
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 4 3/4  cups  cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 1/2  cups  water
• 3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  cups  chopped carrot (about 1 pound)
• 1/4  cup  half-and-half I used a recommendation from one of the reviews for this recipe and used 1/4 cup of soy milk instead.
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3  cup  reduced-fat sour cream I skipped this...
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and this!

Preparation

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, 3 1/2 cups water, broth, and carrot; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Place half of soup mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup mixture. Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 teaspoons sour cream and 3/4 teaspoon parsley.

    In other news, my grandma booked a trip to Italy for the week of Thanksgiving.  She always hosts Thanksgiving dinner.  So of course I jumped at the chance to invite both my family and Arnauld's over for turkey day...of course asking everyone to come over and cook together.  Should be interesting.  I'm starting to think of the menu, wanting to stick with some traditional favorites but would love some recommendations and recipes.  If you have something you love, send it my way!