Make delicious dinner?

Hubs has been working overtime lately so I've had more dinners than usual when he's not home. I planned ahead over the weekend a little bit knowing that this week might leave my time a bit thin. Over the weekend, I made potato leek soup. It's quite easy to make and really doesn't take long. Then today the kidlets took short naps so I was able to make muffins to go with the soup. Add some raspberry kefir and it's a decent enough dinner.

Potato Leek Soup (makes 12-14 cups)
9 medium potatos of whatever variety you have and needs to get used. Slightly old potatos are fine
6 cups water
3 teaspoons veggie broth concentrate (I like better than boullion)
approximately 3 medium leeks (or whatever the farmers market bunch is)
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 head of garlic (more or less, depends on your taste)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
a little salt (a dash or two)
some good grinds of black pepper

Cut the potatos into chunks, about 1" each. It's not rocket science. Cut them smaller if you need them to cook quick, leave them bigger if you don't. Put the potatos, water and broth concentrate in a medium pot (this makes about 12-14 cups) and let it cook on medium until the potatos smash with a spatula or until you've done the rest of the recipe.

Wash the leeks and then chop them into 1" chunks, or there abouts. Sautee them with the butter in a medium pan (think a 4 egg omlet) until they're soft. As they're starting to cook, peel the garlic, stirring the leeks every so often. Once the garlic is all peeled the leeks should be somewhat soft. Use a garlic press to add the garlic to the leeks and cook it until it's not raw anymore. It starts to brown sometimes, sometimes not. Again, not rocket science. :)

Once the leeks and garlic are done, add them to the potato and broth. Add in a little salt (remember the broth has a fair bit probably) and a couple good grinds of pepper. Stir it all together. I then whip out my handy-dandy immersion blender and make the soup all sorts of creamy goodness. Once most of the chunks are blended, add the cream into the soup. Let it all get warm again and then enjoy.


So that was the soup I made over the weekend. Some is in my freezer for my family, some is in the fridge for a family with a new baby, and some is in the fridge for later this week. Yum!

Here's the recipe I used to make the muffins we had with our soup tonight.

Banana-Apple Oat Muffins (makes 12)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar (you can make it with less and I normally do 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
2 large overripe bananas
3/4 cup applesauce
1/4 teaspoon salt (sometimes leave this out)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup thick rolled oats

Get your KitchenAid set up the way you like it and just trust me on the steps.
Turn the oven on to 350. Bake works better than convection in my oven for these, but I have a crappy oven.

Set the mixer on speed 2. Add the butter and brown sugar and let them cream. Add in the eggs. Add in the bananas (I break them into 1/3's first). Add the applesauce. Once that's all mixed well, add the salt and baking soda. Then slow down the mixer and add the whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour and oats. I know that's not the normal way things are made, but it works fine for these and makes fewer dishes.

Spray a muffin tin (holds 12) so they come out easy. Then just put the muffin batter into the muffin tin. They'll look really full. That's okay. It won't make a huge mess in your oven. They'll cook for about 35-40 minutes. When they're done cooking, put them on a cooling rack or slice the top off, put a little butter in the middle, put the top back on and enjoy.