Skinny Potato Leek Soup

Our last and final installment of my 3-day potato hoorah has arrived.

And of course, it has to be soup. It's just my style right now. Cold outside = soup inside.

This soup was painfully easy. You start out with a very simple roux, then add in all your ingredients except for the milk. Simmer, then done. You could set this soup to simmer, slick up the kitchen, shamelessly eat some of your son's Halloween candy, and the soup will be finished when you're through.

The flavors are very simple, and without the addition of cream, this recipe leans directly towards the skinny side of life. However, I wanted Ryan to like the soup, so I added cream at the end after blending. You could do this either way. Heck, you could change the chicken stock to veggie and have yourself a little vegetarian goodness if that's the way you swing.

Ever use leeks before? We have had them few times and have loved them even more with each appearance. They taste somewhere between a yellow onion and a green onion (or scallion, if you will), and are delightfully tame. Nonetheless, they provide immense flavor, and are a perfect compliment to the potatoes.

We served this up with some Sweet Potato Biscuits, and loved the leftovers for lunch the next day.

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Skinny Potato Leek Soup 

Ingredients:
1 large leek, dark stems removed.
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 T flour
1 T butter
4 C fat free chicken, low sodium, chicken stock
1/2 C milk (skim, or whatever you prefer)
salt and pepper
*3/4 C heavy cream (*optional, but essential if you're feeding this to a man.)

Directions:
1. First off, make sure your leeks are thoroughly cleansed. They tend to get dirt in the small crevices. Cut them horizontally and separate the layers to make sure no grit remains. Coarsely chop them after washing.
2. In a medium soup pot, melt butter and add flour on low heat. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, and prevent from burning. If it goes dark brown, you've torched the sucker, and need to start again. You're aiming for golden.
3. Add chicken stock, leeks, onion, potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup until smooth.
4. Add milk and salt & pepper to taste. Stir in cream (optional).

Recipe Adapted from: SkinnyTaste