Cheap Eats: Winter Warming Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I've been looking for creative uses for my 30# haul of baking potatoes from Aldi.  Last night I took baked potatoes to Bible study at church and came home with five leftover potatoes.

So, this morning I opened the fridge and took everything out that looked like it would make a great soup.

 This soup begins by creating a mirepoix of leek, garlic, celery, red pepper, and carrots.  To this, we add seasonings, fresh parsley, water, and almond milk. 

The secret ingredient in the sauce is garbanzo beans.  They give the base sauce its creamy texture. 

This mixture is then blended until smooth in a high speed blender.  We added the juice of 2 limes and just a hint of curry powder to give it a kick!  It was perfect! 

This is a serious amount of "yum!"  I had to keep the 14 year old sous chef from just eating bowls of the base sauce.

But wait!  There's more!  I then sauteed the remaining ingredients in a pan with a little water until tender.  I added the leftover cubed baked potatoes.  Then poured all the lovely sauce over the top.

Mix, warm through, and add a little more almond milk until you reach the desired soup consistency.

Garnish with finely diced red pepper and freshly chopped parsley.

A bowl of creamy, filling, guilt-free, deliciousness with no added oil, no added salt, no added fat, no dairy, and no cholesterol.

Winter Warming Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Creamy Soup Base:

 

2 cups diced carrots

2 stalks chopped celery

2 cloves minced garlic

1 large leek thoroughly cleaned and finely chopped - both white and greens part (divided use)  

2-3 Tbsp water 

1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed well)

1/2 cup chopped parsley (divided use) 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

1 tsp. onion powder 

1 1/2 tsp. salt-free seasoning 

1 tsp. Bragg's aminos 

1/2 tsp. ginger powder

1 cup pineapple juice

Juice of 2 limes

1/4 tsp. turmeric 

1/2 tsp. hot sauce 

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1//2 cup water 

2 cups almond milk (additional to thin soup at end if needed) 

 Add carrots, 3/4 of the leeks, celery, garlic to a pan with just enough water to keep vegetables from scorching.  Saute until softened.  Add half of the chopped parsley (1/4 cup) reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for garnish.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the water and almond milk.  Heat until parsley is wilted and the flavors are combined.  

Remove from heat and let cool slightly before adding to the blender.  Add water. Then blend, adding almond milk a little at a time until the sauce is smooth and the consistency of a cheese sauce. 

Soup Ingredients: 

 

 4-5 leftover baked potatoes - diced

1 cup broccoli florets

half of the finely chopped leeks

1 red pepper - diced small -  (divided use) 

Add leeks, 3/4 of the red pepper  (reserving about 3 Tbsp for garnish), and broccoli to enough water to keep the vegetables from scorching.  Cook on med/low heat until softened, adding water as needed to keep from burning.  Add the diced potatoes.  Finally pour the soup base mixture into the pan.  Stir and heat through.  Add more almond milk if the soup is too thick.  It was about right for us.  But, it will depend on the proportion of vegetables to soup base that you have in the pot.  Taste and correct for seasoning.  You should not need to add any salt.  But, some fresh cracked black pepper might be needed.  

 Garnish with fresh parsley, finely diced red peppers, and a splash of lime juice if you'd like.   

Add a big salad, homemade muffins, fresh fruit, and a cup of herbal tea to make this a perfect dinner!

For a free downloadable PDF of this recipe, click here.  

Enjoy!

Remember, 

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope