Leona says, "Delicioso" Melissa says, "Good one Mom!"
Hello to our Foodies out there in Kitchenland, yes, it is that time again....come on you know...AH I see that light bulb just turned on. ......yep you guessed it....LEONA'S FAVORITE THROW IT IN A POT DAY!!!! How many times do I have to say, "I LOVE THIS DAY!" ...LOL I know I know probably to many times that you get tired of hearing (seeing) it, but I do love this day cause I don't have to really measure anything, unless (insert air quotes as you read the next two words) THE MELISSA is watching (this is where Leona turns her head left and right to see if Melissa is watching) .....oh heavens to mer-ga-troid.... she is, dag nab it... that girl has "MY MOM IS ABOUT TO NOT MEASURE SOMETHING" radar!!!! EGADS I am going to start calling it Mdar from this day forward. Love you Miss! (even if you spoil my fun.....hehehehe)
We had this massive amount of potatoes just laying around here just begging me to do something with them...... so I did. Below is my version of a potato soup, please remember I have a BIG family so I tend to cook large amounts to accommodate their appetites. For smaller families just cut down the measurements. We welcome all comments, ideas and suggestions and would love to hear from you.
My Potato Sprung a Leaky Soup
Equipment needed:
Soup pot - my favorite is my Paula Dean stock pot
Your favorite knife
Measuring spoons (please take note Melissa..hahaha)
1 cup measuring cup
Food processor (use a potato masher, hand mixer or blender if you don't have one)
Ingredients:
5 pounds of potatoes peeled and diced
1 pound of smoky ham or 1 pound of bacon or use both your choice- diced up
3 32 ounce cartons of chicken broth - we used low sodium fat free
1 can of coconut milk
64 ounces of water - fill one of the cartons of chicken broth up 2 times
1 leek - rinsed and sliced up
1 onion cut up
2 avocados - mashed up
1/2 a bag of fresh spinach - chopped up small without the stems - optional
All the celery leaves and the yellow green stalks of celery including the leafy heart of 1 bunch of
celery-chopped up
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
4 tablespoons of margarine if using just ham as your meat - we use Nucoa (dairy free)
2 tablespoons of dill weed or fresh dill
2 tablespoons of salt
1tablespoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of original Ms. Dash salt free (optional)
NOTE:
All of our recipes are dairy free so we use many things to achieve that creamy goodness that milk products give. Avocados and coconut milk are great substitutes plus they add a dimension to the flavor. I snuck the avocados in knowing that Melissa's family doesn't like them. Trust me they couldn't even tell they were in there and of course I didn't tell them either...however, I did tell Melissa and she was shocked cause you couldn't taste them. Our Motto is "What healthy goodness can we sneak in, get away with, the hard part--> remember and use again!" All in the name of LOVE!
Cooking instuctions:
Use your soup pot to sauté 1 cup of Ham (if using bacon cook it all), leaks, onion, celery, garlic, spinach (optional) and 4 tablespoons of margarine unless you are using bacon, bacon makes its own grease. Cook until onions celery and leaks are tender and if using bacon make sure it is done. You may have to add a little chicken broth to keep veggies from burning.
Add all the liquids, dill, seasonings, potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender.
Please remember that you need enough liquid to cover the potatoes and a little extra to compensate for liquid evaporation during cooking.
Take out 3 cups soup try to get mostly potatoes and veggies drain the juice back into the pot. Make sure that you have 3 cups of potato/veggie mix and set aside.
Add in the rest of the Ham (unless you are using all bacon) and the mashed Avocado to the soup pot, stir to combine and continue to simmer soup.
Take the 3 cups of potato mixture that you set aside and puree it using whatever equipment that you have- I used a food processor. Add this back into the soup pot stir to combine. Hopefully this will thicken up your soup so it isn't to thin.
Taste your soup and add more seasonings if you need to.
This soup has a delicate flavor so if you find the flavor lacking just throw in what you think will make it taste good to you and let us know.
If your soup is thinner than you would like, try one of these thickening methods:
Flour and water- should be kind of thick
cornstarch and water- be careful not to get it too thin
potato flakes - I used this and it works great
From my stove to your table, eat and enjoy......
