Monday, October 3, 2011

Creamy Potato & Leek Soup


Fact: It is 58 degrees in my house right now. And yes, my fingers and toes are super chilly. Everything else though, is buried beneath blankets, sweatpants, and a hoodie. It's one of the only times I'm glad my laptop runs on the hot side -- makes for a nice leg warmer.

The weather this past week and weekend has been absolutely dismal -- rainy with temps dropping down into the 40s, and it has insisted on carrying on in this fashion into this week. Need I say I'm not a fan? Especially when we thought we had our furnace fixed, only to find out that no, it is in fact, not. We may or may not have made a last minute space heater purchase late last night after discovering the bedroom was a mere 55 degrees.

Sometimes, there's only one way to combat such crap-tastic weather. Eating a nice warm rib-sticking meal. Which this soup totally is. Hot. Filling. Tasty. Sign me up. Then send over the contractor that was supposed to show up to fix the furnace at 8am and still hasn't arrived.

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup


Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 pound bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large leeks, sliced
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Add potatoes and chicken broth to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add bacon to a large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until cooked through, but not crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of drippings in the pan. Add leeks to the same pan, and saute for 8-10 minutes.

When potatoes are done, reduce heat to low and stir in 3/4 of the leeks and the milk. Using an immersion blender (or transfer in batches to a regular blender), puree the mixture until soup reaches desired consistency. (Can leave as many or as few potato chunks as desired.) Stir in bacon, remaining leeks, and pepper. If soup becomes too thick, add more milk. Serve hot.


Serves: 8


My soup ended up a tad thicker than what I was originally aiming for, but it still hit the spot. Which is great, considering how few ingredients this soup has. Of course, you could always cut down on the amount of bacon this recipe calls for to help lighten things up a bit in the calorie department, but honestly, it carries a lot of the flavor in this dish, so don't go hog wild if that's what you decide to do.

Overall the soup was good, but I think I might prefer the cheesy goodness of my Potato Bacon Soup over this.


Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 443g
Amount per serving
Calories 483Calories from fat 218
% Daily Value
Total Fat 24.3g37%
Saturated Fat 8.0g40%
Cholesterol 64mg21%
Sodium 1565mg65%
Total Carbs 39.0g13%
Fiber 5.5g22%
Sugars 4.9g
Protein 26.4g
Vitamin A 9%Vitamin C 74%
Calcium 8%Iron 14%

17 comments:

  1. Mmm! This totally hits the spot on a cold day. I hope your furnace has been fixed by now!

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  2. Is it too much to say "I love you!" on my first read-through? I was just thinking about the two large leeks in my fridge and what to do with them, haha! Problem solved! This looks delicious!

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  3. The soup sounds fantastic and looks delicious! Sorry about your furnace :( It took us a year to figure out the strange "ambient heat" situation in our house and we ended up buying space heaters as well lol.

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  4. I love love love potato soup! This looks so tasty! Especially served in that bread bowl!

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  5. i've got plans for a baked potato soup tonight and now I REALLY want a bread bowl!!

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  6. I hope your furnace gets fixed fast! I have been there when it breaks and is freezing. I guess you can be happy it isn't the middle of January? This soup looks like a comforting way to get through it though!

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  7. I hope your furnace gets fixed fast! I have been there when it breaks and is freezing. I guess you can be happy it isn't the middle of January? This soup looks like a comforting way to get through it though!

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  8. I hope your furnace gets fixed fast! I have been there when it breaks and is freezing. I guess you can be happy it isn't the middle of January? This soup looks like a comforting way to get through it though!

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  9. I hope your furnace gets fixed fast! I have been there when it breaks and is freezing. I guess you can be happy it isn't the middle of January? This soup looks like a comforting way to get through it though!

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  10. Oh, I hope you are finally warm!!! I'm glad you had this yummy soup to help you through~

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  11. Yummy!!! making some this week. Thanks for this great recipe.

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  12. This looks so tasty! Especially served in that bread bowl!

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  13. This weekend weather sucked didnt it? Im a little over the rain and dreary weather. Now that its a weekday and there is no time to go out and play - sunshine. Not cool.
    As for that contractor - kick him in the shins. It gives all contractors bad names when one acts like that. Grrr.
    And as for this soup - yeah, with it sinking into the low 60's (just because we haven't touched the thermostat yet) I could use a bowl of stick to your ribs good.

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  14. Great soup! It sounds so warming. I hope it doesn't take too long to get your furnace fixed, it's cold out there!

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  15. This soup looks soooo good and comforting. :) Love that you served them in bread bowls. YUM!!
    I hope you get your furnace fixed soon!

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  16. ohmygosh. Yum. I definitely made a very similar potato and leek soup recently...agreed that it's soo perfect for this weather!

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