Potato Soup!

It's finally starting to feel pretty chilled out there..... it was clear today at work when the three of us decided it was a soup kinda day, at which point I confirmed my decision to make soup when I got home.

I promised to bring soup for the office tomorrow, too... sooooooo.. DOUBLE UP!

Here's a good old Recipe Blog for you Potato Soup lovers out there. It's super easy, and btw, deLISH.

Anyway, here ya go:

POTATO SOUP

Ingredients

* 8 - 13 small potatoes [I use red potatoes], cubed

* 5-6 carrots [the long ones, or about half a bag of mini carrots], chopped

* 5-6 celery stalks [and leaves, if you like them!], chopped

* 4-5 tbsp butter [I used less, right around 3 tbsp, but it's your preference!]

* ½ cup leeks, chopped. [use onions if you prefer those; I like leeks better!] 

* 5 tbsp flour

* ½ tsp salt & ½ tsp pepper

* 1 cup milk
* 1-2 cups vegetable broth [organic, if you're like me & weird about that stuff] 

Directions

1. Chop & CLEAN your vegetables [potatoes, carrots, celery]. Cut up your leeks, too, if you want, but be sure to keep them separate from the other veggies. Believe it or not, I have a few friends who don't wash their store-bough produce before eating it, and that.. just... juuust.... please wash your food. The easiest/fastest way to do it is in a colander/strainer & use a fruit/veggie wash [like mine, Fit!]

mmmm veggies! 

2. BOIL those veggies [use a pot big enough, so you can use the same one for the whole process]. Keep an eye on them so they don't overcook; you want them to be soft, but not mushy! Once they've boiled, strain them and KEEP the broth. Set both aside, separately. 

[doubled the recipe!]

3. Cut up your leeks if you didn't already do that. Reduce the heat to med-high. Melt the butter and saute the leeks for just a few minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Slowly add in the flour, and stir through until it's of a paste-like consistency. Add the salt & pepper and stir it all together. Pour in your milk and blend everything until there are no chunks or gritty areas. 

pre-measured flour/salt/pepper & leeks!

4. Once you've stirred the milk into the pot, add about 1/2 cup of the broth from the boiled vegetables. Stir it up, and add the vegetables [potatoes, carrots, celery] back. Stir that in, and then slowly add in vegetable broth - just enough to cover everything. If you like a soupier consistency, add more. If you like more of a stew, add just enough to cover everything, but not much more. I would also recommend saving some broth for leftovers; this stuff gets super thick in the fridge & sometimes adding water makes it bland. *FYI!;)* 

nom nom nom!

5. You. Are. DONE! Go eat!! :D

6. Optional step: Let your boyfriend disappear into the kitchen for 20 minutes and come back with these. And eat them also, because he is thoughtful & they are delicious. 

surprise smores, by the boyfriend! 

^ And yes, that's the Express logo that you see there; to clarify, I was doing a little bit of work - that is not my wallpaper ;)

Hope that recipe finds its way into your bellies!

xo | cmd