Cream of Leek & Potato Soup….

We were lucky through the month of October…if memory serves me (which it sometimes doesn’t!) we usually have our first freeze close to Halloween but this year October stayed unseasonably warm.

Our first freeze hit over the weekend and my urge to make homemade soup kicked in. I have had the ingredients on hand but was waiting til it got a tad colder before I made any.

This weekend I made Cream of Leek & Potato Soup….it’s easy, somewhat quick and easy on the pocketbook.

I will post the recipe below as I found it on line but will add a few notes of my own.

Notes:

Instructions say to use the white part of the leek only….I cut up into the green stalk as I didn’t want to waste that part of the leek.

Instructions say to peel the potatoes….I left the peel on as it leaves a nice texture in the soup

I found with the chicken stock that we used the soup did not need salt as a seasoning but the pepper rounds out the soup nicely.

Cream of Leek & Potato Soup

1 Tbl. Olive or Canola Oil

8 oz. Leeks, white part only, thickly sliced

1 Onion, coarsely chopped

6 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1 lb. Potatoes, peeled & diced

1/8 tsp. each Salt & Pepper

1/3 cup Sour Cream

Chives for garnish if desired

In 4 qt. saucepan heat oil over moderate heat. Stir in leeks and onion, then 3/4 cup of the stock. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.

Add potatoes to pan and stir to coat with leek/onion mixture.

Pour in half of the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered, 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft.

Remove from heat and using a ladle transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth. You may have to do this in batches if you double the recipe.

Pour the pureed soup back into the saucepan and add the rest of the stock. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Serve in soup bowls and garnish with chopped chives if desired.

(Season with salt/pepper if desired)

Rebecca

Stroganoff in the Crock Pot….

I love this recipe and fixed it all the time when the kids were growing up.

I make this the day before and let it sit overnight in the fridge to let the flavors meld together. (After cooking the hamburger/onions/garlic mix it in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients (except the noodles) and put it in the fridge overnight).

Dump it in the crockpot in the morning and let it cook all day.

All you have to do to finish the dish is boil noodles!

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs. Hamburger

2 Onions, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1 Beef Boullion Cube mixed with 1 cup hot water

3 Tbls. Tomato Paste

1 1/2 c. Sour Cream mixed with 4 Tbls. Flour

1 – 12 oz. Package Noodles

Brown hamburger and add onions and garlic.

Drain and add to crockpot.

Add remaining ingredients and cook on low 6-8 hrs.

Serve over hot noodles.

Rebecca