Weekend Cooking: Potato Leek Soup, Apple Nut Bread Pudding, and Apple Cheddar Scones

Let's get right down to it....

First up Potato Leek Soup. This is a Julia Child classic recipe.  I was the only one eating it Saturday night (uh mom... it looks weird....) and by Sunday I had a 2-year old, a 12-year old, and a 5-year old all singing praises for this simple soup.  I forgot to take a picture, but, seriously, do you doubt Julia?

Potato Leek Soup
serving 6 or 8

4 cups sliced leeks – the white part and a bit of the tender green
4 cups diced potatoes – old or baking potatoes recommended
6 or 7 cups of water
1½ to 2 teaspoons of salt, to taste
Optional: ½ cup of more sour cream, heavy cream or crème fraiche

In a heavy-bottomed, three-quart saucepan, bring the leeks, potatoes and water to a boil, uncovered. Salt lightly, cover partially, and simmer 20 or 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Taste and correct seasoning.

Puree the soup through a vegetable mill or in a blender or food processor. Serve with optional cream.

Apple Nut Bread Pudding
(from Fix it and Forget it)

8 slices raisin bread, cubed (pumpkin spice swirl bread is great too!)
2 large tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 c raisins
1 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
3 eggs
2 c milk
1/4 c apple juice
4 T butter, melted

Place bread cubes, apples and raisins in greased slow cooker and mix gently. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and spice. Add in egg & mix well. Add milk, apple juice and melted butter and combine thoroughly. Pour this mixture over bread mixture in slow cooker and gently stir. Cover. Cook on high for approximately 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Apple Cheddar Scones
(Smitten Kitchen, of course!)

Click HERE for the recipe (seriously... everything on this blog is delicious!)

A Season of Super Soup: No-Fuss Potato Soup (week 5)

I think this may be the best soup I've ever made; at least Sam thinks so.  He said that this is the perfect soup for a snowy, grey day.  It was a mild, golden, autumn day, but it was still delicious. 

Just so y'all know, this is the best it gets with my food photography.

Ingredients:
adapted from Fix-it and Forget-it

6 cups diced, peeled potatoes
5 cups of water
2 cups diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup copped carrots
1/4 cup butter
4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
12-oz can evaporated milk
16 oz shredded cheddar
4 pieces of bacon, fried crispy

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except milk and cheese in slow cooker. Cover.  Cook on high 7-8 hours or until the veggies are tender.  Stir in milk.  Stir in cheese until it melts.  Give the immersion blender a whirl through the whole thing.  Crumble in bacon.  Stir.  Heat thoroughly. 

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Week 4 -- Tot-Friendly Veggie Soup
Week 3 -- Split Pea Soup
Week 2 -- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Week 1 -- Chicken Stock

A Season of Super Soup: Tot-Friendly Veggie Soup (week 4)

A toddler + soup = a huge mess.  Usually, when introducing soup to a tot or small child (or even a preteen) it is best to make sure the bowl is 2/3 of the way full of "stuff" (meat, noodles, veggies) and 1/3 of the way full with liquid.  What happens most of the time is that Sam and I are left with bowls of broth with one sad carrot floating around and the kids have bowls of the good stuff.

Fuck that.  I want some noodles, too.

I present to you:  Tot Friendly Vegetable Soup.  Light on the spices, heavy on nutrients, and mostly comprised of the "good stuff."  Add in a buttermilk biscuit on the side and this is the perfect family friendly meal to welcome fall.  Hope and Sam didn't even know I snuck in turnips; when the turnips are peeled and chopped they looked just like taters.  Mwhahahahahahahaha! 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onion
5 cups hot chicken stock
1 cup hot water
1 cup diced, peeled turnip
1 cup diced, peeled potato
1 cup tomato, seeded and diced
1 cup uncooked alphabet noodles
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup chopped spinach or cabbage

Directions:

Heat butter in a large saucepan. Add onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, and turnips and cook on medium heat until slightly softened. Then add your broth, tomatoes, noodles, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil on medium heat.  Lower the temperature, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes. Then add your cup of spinach or cabbage. Cook about 5 minutes more. Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste if you wish.

Sam added a bit of hot sauce to his bowl and really loved it.  Atticus and Hope both ate the soup without complaints so that is certainly a win!  Overall, I thought the soup not flavorful enough.  However, I'm the person digging curried soups that no one else will touch.  I guess it is all about perspective. 

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Week 3 -- Split Pea Soup
Week 2 -- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Week 1 -- Chicken Stock

A Season of Super Soup: Crockpot Split Pea Soup (week 3)

I love split pea soup.  My mom used to make it all creamy when I was a kid and my dad would make disgusted faces at the green sea of soup (my dad has the palate of a toddler).  I haven't had split pea soup in eons, but I decided to make it in the crock pot this weekend.  I didn't go with a traditional -- well, I guess it is traditional -- creamy green soup with bits of ham.  Instead I tried to find something more nutritionally dense -- you know, with that whole pregnancy thing I've got going on -- in order to have something filling and healthy for my work lunches.

Bingo.

Split Pea Soup 
(modified from Fix-it and Forget-it)

Ingredients 

2 carrots
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cubed ham
3 cups water
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 onion
1 tomato
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 3/4 cups (1 pound) dried split peas, washed, with stones removed
2 ribs celery
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 parsnip
1 leek (keep 3 inches of green)

Dicrections

1. Cut all vegetables into 1/4-inch pieces and place in slow cooker.
2. Dump in the liquids and spices.
3. Cover. Cook on high for 7 hours.

This recipe alleges that it serves six. Maybe six mixing bowl size servings.  However I would guess this to make 15 cups of soup.  Hagrid would have enough for a meal plus some leftovers. Aromatic, filling, and absolutely delicious!

Week 2 -- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Week 1 -- Chicken Stock

Hello, Autumn!

Most Sundays I have some "mom time."  A cafe and a book for a few hours for this introvert mom to recharge her batteries.  Every once in a while this is flipped;  I stay at home and Sam takes the kids out.  This is my favorite mom-time mode.  Today was all about celebrating autumn:  some baking during nap time and some soup and reading while the kids and Sam are out.

I know it is blurry, but this was too cute.  Atticus was making soup for his Rupert Bear while I threw split pea soup in the crock pot.

I found some plates for our "friend Thanksgiving" this year.  Even better -- 50% off!

This afternoon is overcast and grey.  Perfect.

Baked a cranberry upside down cake during naptime.  I'm having friends over for dinner tomorrow and I knew I wouldn't have time to bake after work.  Oh yeah, that kickin' owl tea towel was also 50% off at JoAnn.

Split Pea soup for a nutrient dense snack.  Recipe coming tomorrow!

New warm, bulky yarn!

Of course, a big mug of milky Irish Breakfast tea and Harry Potter.

Now I'm off to do the less glamorous mom tasks (i.e. dishes). 

A Season of Super Soup: Curried Butternut Squash Soup (week 2)

My family isn't too terribly picky about food.  Sam doesn't like spinach and Hope doesn't like mushrooms and that's about as far as the flavor dislikes go. For some reason, though, soup doesn't get the love it deserves in our house.

If I make something traditional: chicken noodle, vegetable, tomato.... they'll eat it.  But they only eat it once. Leftover soup doesn't appeal to them in the least.  Conversely, I think soup -- like chili and spaghetti sauce -- gets better after it hangs out in the fridge and all the flavors meld and intensify.  Apparently I'm a weirdo.  They also don't care for strange soups; only easily identifiable soups reminiscent of popular Campbell flavors get their vote (which is strange, because Sam loves Thai soups and Vietnamese Pho). 

Well I get tired of chicken noodle.  I want something different and since I will be the one eating leftover soup for lunch every single day, I get to pick the soups (not to mention, I'm the only doing all of the shopping, chopping, and cooking).  This week was a me choice:  Curried Butternut Squash Soup.

It is absolutely heavenly.  As a plus, it not only is chock-full of butternut squash goodness, but it also has Granny Smith apples.  Healthy, spicy, and delicious.

Apples, celery, and onions browning in a bit of butter.  Between that and the freshly roasted butternut squash, my kitchen was smelling awesome!

I didn't change a thing in the recipe, except that I didn't put cheese on top of the soup.  I'm thinking about trying this same recipe, but replacing the butternut squash with sweet potato.  I have a picture of the soup in progress, but I couldn't get an attractive picture of the after results.  Visit the Cooking Light website here for a delicious picture of the soup.   

Because I didn't adapt this recipe in any way, visit the link above for the recipe.  I don't like to type out unchanged recipes due to copyright issues.  Let me know what you think.  I thought the soup smooth but kicky (like me). 

Previous Super Soups:

Week 1 -- Chicken Stock

A Season of Super Soup: Chicken Stock (week 1)

I've been insanely busy this weekend.  Sam was booked up with tattoos (yay!) and so it was pretty much just me and Atticus at home all weekend as Hope was visiting her grandparents.  I made chicken pot pie Saturday night, ham and mac'n'cheese on Sunday night, and right now Apple-Cranberry pork loin is simmering in the crockpot (can you tell I'm eager for Autumn?).  In addition, I also made two batches of chicken stock for the freezer.  I had intended to photo document the entire process, but I had a toddler in the kitchen and while cooking I was singing "Rubber Duckie."  I can only multitask so much.

So here is a very basic recipe with some pictures here and there; oh yea...and I don't really measure:

Chunky chops are fine

 Basic Chicken Stock (adapted from Cooking Light)

• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• a few dashes of dried parsley
• a shake or three of dried thyme
• two pinches of dried rosemary
• 4-5 lb of chicken (a whole fryer or pieces)
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped 
• 1 tsp of minced garlic ( I use the type in the jar)
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 large onions, peeled and quartered
• 4 quarts cold water

Straining... see all the color (ahem flavor) sucked out of the veggies?  The flavor is now in your broth. 

Wash and chop your veggies.  Throw 'em in a big stock pot. Rinse and pat dry the chicken and then throw it on the veggies.  Add the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 4 hours.  Strain through a colander into a large bowl; discard the veggies, salvage the chicken!  Cool stock to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Skim fat from surface; discard fat.  Store in freezer bags or containers for easy use.

Pre-chilled and skimmed broth. 

After my chicken cooled I deboned it and used some in biscuit-topped chicken pot pie.  I have some in the fridge waiting for me to make chicken salad.  The flavor gets sorta sucked from the veggies while making stock, but I'm always appalled when recipes advocate throwing the chicken away.  Dear Lord have they seen the price of meat!

Another hint, anytime you have vegetables that are looking a bit "sad," just throw them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.  Fennel, parsnips, celery, carrots, etc.... all can be thrown in the broth.  I'll be using this broth as a base for a lot of the soups I'll be making the next few months.