Making a Creamy Soup Creamy Without the Cream.

So I was talking on the phone with my sister/friend from New York, Ellie, when she told me that her daughter (who I consider a niece), Donna, had made Potato Leek Soup; that was funny to me because I'd had a craving for that very soup recently. Donna had decided to go on the Weight Watchers program; to make that soup you did not need the butter or heavy cream. What the heck I thought, might as well try it out and see how good it can be. First I printed out a copy of the Weight Watchers recipe, then I compared it to my Potato Leek Soup recipe; pretty similar in nature.

Anyway, I cooked up a pot of the soup using the Weight Watchers recipe, but added crushed, dried thyme instead of using the chives as they suggested. Wow, I was pretty amazed at how good it came out; not as creamy, but it was still thick and rich tasting; the thyme added a pleasant savory flavor. Serving it to my hubby, he too was amazed at how good this non-dairy version was; he equated the texture to cream of wheat, but still enjoyed it...two bowls worth in one sitting.  Ellie suggested that I mix in a little low fat or fat free sour cream if I missed the dairy; tried it and didn't care for it at all.

So I'm posting the Weight Watchers recipe with a big thumbs up from Roy and myself; two people who thought they couldn't go without their butter and cream in a favorite soup.  Note: I added a couple of preparation steps, such as how to clean and cut up the leeks.

Dairyless Potato Leek Soup

Weight Watchers Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

64 oz canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
8 medium uncooked potatoes, peeled 
3 medium uncooked leeks, cleaned 
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp chives, minced (optional)

Preparation:

To clean the leeks, slice them lengthwise and then cut into one inch pieces. 

Put the pieces into a large colander, rinse with cold water until you can no longer see any dirt; separate the pieces as you rinse them.  Let them stand a few minutes to allow excess water to drain out.

Peel the potatoes and cut them one inch in size; they will cook together more uniformly with the leeks.  Yukon Gold potatoes are yellow in coloring and have a buttery taste; perfect for a soup that usually has butter in it, but is now being cooked without it.

Combine the broth, potatoes, leeks, pepper and herb, if using any, in a large stock pot or Dutch oven; bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover and let cool slightly.






Puree at least 2 cups or up to all of the potatoes and leeks (depending on the texture you want), with 1–2 cups of the broth in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender; pour the mixture back into the remaining soup, stir, and reheat. Serve hot, or cover and refrigerate to serve cold; hot or cold, garnish with the minced chives, if using.

Yields 1 and 1/2 cups per serving.

This soup can be completely or partially pureed and served hot or cold. It can be refrigerated for up to three days, but not frozen.

Try both recipes and see which one you prefer, or perhaps you'll enjoy both.  I find the Weight Watchers recipe more convenient, since heavy cream is not a staple in my home.  Judge for yourself.

Mary Cokenour

One-Two-Three-Four and Time for Coffee Too.

One new recipe.
Two families to cook for.
Three complete meals for a week.
Four hours to prep, prepare and clean up.

No, this is not a new nursery rhyme geared towards the kitchen, and it doesn't rhyme in the least anyway.  This was my accomplishment for this morning; can't decide if I'm leaning towards Super Woman status, or Totally Hot Culinary Goddess.  Besides providing meals for myself and my hubby, I also send meals down to my mother-in-law and her other son who live down in Moab...but I'm getting ahead of myself on the 1-2-3-4 scale.

One New Recipe.

                                                     Roasted Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

3 lbs russet or red skinned potatoes, washed and patted dry (leave skin on)
1/2 cup crushed dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F; use a nonstick jelly roll pan (baking sheet with 1/4 inch lip around edges).

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, angle the knife to cut the first wedge; turn the potato half cut side down and repeat wedge cut with knife; repeat.  Depending on the size of the potatoes, there will be 3-5 wedges with each potato half; place in large bowl.  Add the parsley, salt, black pepper and cheese; toss to coat.  Add the olive oil and toss again making sure to mix in any ingredients that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl.

Spread the wedges on the pan; roast for 25 minutes; turn the wedges over and continue to roast for 20 minutes more.  The outside will be slightly browned and crispy while the inside will be fluffy.

Note:  the olive oil was added last to give the other ingredients a chance to better coat all the potato wedges, not just the top layer which the oil would cover first and make everything stick to it.

Makes 6 servings.

Two Families to Cook for.

As I mentioned earlier, I cook for my husband's family also, so hence the two families.  My mother-in-law enjoys the meals I send down to her, and I enjoy doing it.  Simple as that...and yes, I have a mother-in-law that not only enjoys my cooking, but appreciates it and me as well.  Eat your heart out!

Oh, and don't let the upcoming photos fool you.  There are two trays of each complete meal.

Three Complete Meals for a Week.

Meatloaf with Roasted Potato Wedges

 

Ramen Noodle Beef Stir Fry

 

 

Homemade Italian Dressing Chicken with Vegetables

 

Four Hours to Prep, Prepare and Clean Up.

 

First off, I made sure to get a pot of coffee going; I love my coffee in the morning!

 

After getting the chicken and marinade in a bag and settled into the refrigerator, I began making the stir fry.  What made my time go faster is that I often buy extra vegetables that I use a lot of: bell peppers, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli and cauliflower.  I cut them to the sizes I need, blanch or steam if necessary and portion them out into sealable plastic freezer bags.  When I need them, there they are ready for the using.  The thin round steak was defrosting overnight in the refrigerator, but still slightly frozen when I pulled it out.  This made it so easy to cut thin strips which I mixed with a cup of Hoisin sauce; then I just followed the instructions as listed on my recipe (click  the link over the photo).  While everything was cooking, I had time in between to clean up and start the next meal which was the meatloaf.

 

Again, simply follow the recipe (click the link over the photo); 45 minutes after placing the meatloaves into the oven, I added the tray of potatoes and they finished up at the same time.  I cleaned up and sauteed the vegetables that would go with the chicken.  Fifteen minutes before the meatloaf and potatoes were finished, I began the initial cooking of my chicken which had marinated for the maximum time of four hours.  The chicken was on the baking tray and ready to finish up in the oven as the other items came out.

 

Basically, I began all this at 8am and was completely finished up, including cleanup and packaging up the meals, by 12pm...four hours!

 

During all this, I sipped on Vanilla Nut Creme coffee; dodged cats and dogs milling around my legs, hoping I would drop pieces of chicken or beef; and actually downed a muffin for breakfast.  So, I have decided that not only am I a Super Woman, but definitely a Goddess also.  I'm now going to take a well deserved nap; have a great day everyone!

 

Mary Cokenour