REMEMBER THAT 10 POUND BAG OF POTATOES?
Bangers & Mash, Nancy burgers with french fries, potatoes au gratin... and last night creamy potato soup (which actually makes 5 meals to date, since we have enough leftover for Sunday supper).
This is not vichyssoise - a wonderful, cold potato soup -- this is not a Gourmet Magazine recommendation or some fancy chef's potato soup, this is a 'middle-America' Better Homes & Gardens recipe... Slimming? No. But if that's dinner, it's not all that fattening, either... AND it's healthful and hearty... AND, it's cheap. And in today's economic climate - cheap is the new black... Wake up and smell the recession... It's even cheaper than fast food - actually many healthful, inexpensive meals are cheaper than fast foods if one actually cooks for his/her family... and most home cooked meals do not include high fat content that hooks its consumers like a shot of heroin, but I digress...
Counting one's pennies is important in today's world and, since there's no potato famine in America, buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes for 99 cents (or less - we just saw one for 69 cents) and augment your meals with these wonderful spuds or make a whole meal out of potatoes. Have a baked potato for lunch. Did I mention it's way cheap??? And it's way better for you than a bacon western, eastern, southern, northern calorie and fat festival. And this creamy potato soup is plain delicious.
Tonight meal #6 = boiled potatoes with baked pork chops and steamed zucchini.
CREAMY POTATO SOUP
(Better Homes and Gardens)
Prep: 25 min. Cook: 35 min.
Ingredients:
2 cups thinly sliced onions or leeks
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced (we used the regular baking potatoes)
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 oz. Swiss-style cheese such as Gruyere or baby Swiss, shredded (we used Edam)
Snipped herbs (we got parsley & chives from our herb garden)
2 oz. baby Swiss cheese, thinly sliced - optional (again, we used the Edam we had)
Directions:
In 4-quart Dutch oven cook onions in hot oil over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until tender.
Whisk together the milk and flour; add to onions. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
Add potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
Puree soup, half at a time, in blender or food processor.
Return to Dutch oven; add shredded cheese. Cook and stir over medium heat just until cheese is melted. Season to taste. Sprinkle fresh herbs
Garnish w/ sliced cheese. Serve at once.
Makes 8 (1-cup) servings
Each serving: 220 calories (see - not that fattening - you can have two bowls and it's still less fattening than a fast food burger and fries); 11 g fat; 31 mg chol; 441 mg sodium; 18 g carbo; 1 g fiber, 13 g protein.
