Potato-Leek Soup

I made this soup over two weeks ago, so I'm going to try to remember as best I can exactly what I did. The original recipe came from The Big Book of Soups & Stews by Maryana Vollstedt and I just made a few minor adjustments. This soup could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon (which is not in the original recipe) and using a veggie stock instead of the chicken stock.

Potato-Leek Soup

• 1 pound of bacon, cut into small pieces
• 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

In a large soup pot, fry bacon pieces until crispy. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towel, leaving grease in pot. Add in leeks and potatoes and saute for a few minutes, until leeks are tender. Add 1 cup of the stock. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add more stock if necessary. Using a potato masher, mash up some of the potatoes until you get your desired consistency. Add remaining stock, half-and-half, salt and pepper and simmer 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve topped with bacon pieces.

Cabbage Sausage Soup

A coworker gave me this recipe years ago when we had the world's largest cabbage to use up that we had bought at the farmer's market. It looked like the recipe came from a local fundraiser type cookbook, so I can't site a source here.

This recipe could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the sausage and it would still be a delicious soup. But I prefer to make it with my favorite sausage, Bob Evans Zesty Hot.

Cabbage Sausage Soup

• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 bay leaf

Combine carrots, onions and sausage in a frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned and vegetables are crisply tender. Pour off fat. In a soup pot, combine remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Stir in sausage and veggies. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until stew is thickened.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Last fall I bought The Big Book of Soups & Stews by Maryana Vollstedt. DH and I love soups, and this is a great book with a good variety of soup recipes. This time out, I decided to make Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup, with just a few minor changes. I made these changes because: 1) I almost never make a recipe exactly as it is written (unless it's baking). 2) I like the taste of veggies that have been sauteed before going into the soup. 3) Everything tastes better with bacon. This is a good soup, but not a stand-alone meal. We ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches. The recipe follows, with my changes in italics.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

• 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets (I used the entire head, not just the florets)


• 1 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower florets


• 2 large russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cubed


• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (I used the half a sweet onion I had sitting in the fridge)


• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth (I used a full can, about 2 cups)


• 2 cups milk


• 1 teaspoon dried thyme


• 1 teaspoon salt


• Freshly ground pepper to taste


• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine (optional)


• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping (I didn't use this)


• 1 pound center cut bacon, cut into bite-size pieces

In a soup pot, fry bacon pieces until crisp. Remove to paper towel lined plate, leaving fat in the pot. Add vegetables to soup pot, saute for approximately 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup of the stock to the pot and bring to a boil (1 cup didn't seem enough to simmer the veggies in, I added the full two cups at this time). Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 15 minutes. Add milk, remaining 1/2 cup stock, thyme, salt, pepper, and butter, if using, and simmer, uncovered, until ingredients are blended, about 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese (I topped with the bacon pieces instead).

I labeled this recipe as vegetarian, because if you omit the bacon and use a vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock, you can easily make this into a vegetarian dish.

Please excuse my photos, I have resigned myself to the fact that I probably won't get a decent photo of dinner until spring. It's dark before dinner here, and we live in the woods making it even darker. So fluorescent lighting and a flash it is.