cheesy chicken breasts

The kids really love this and it's quick to prepare. I originally got the recipe from "Apples for Jam" and I'm not going to copy it out word for word as it's so simple. I like to slice the chicken breasts in half (can be tricky so use a sharp knife) and use thin pieces so it will cook quickly. After pieces are washed and cut dust lightly with some flour and salt if you like, then place in a hot pan with a little hot oil. Place lid on and let brown a couple minutes and flip. Pour a little milk in pan (about 4 tablespoons) turn heat down a little and place lid over. Leave for a few minutes. Slice some cheddar (we love white aged) and place on top of chicken, put lid back on until done. Should only take a few more minutes. I usually serve this with rice and peas. Picky eaters everywhere like this one as it covers the 'all white' prerequisites!

*note to self; a non stick frying pan would sure be easier to wash up*

'shroom soup

My picky toddler likes mushrooms believe it or not. (must be the butter I usually cook them in!) This goes well with some bread for them to dip into the soup for those who aren't as handy with a spoon. Bibs highly recommended, including one for yourself. I've made mushroom soup with elaborate recipes before and this is the simplified version.

slug of olive oil
1 large red onion (I just like red the best but you can use whatever is handy)
bag of mushrooms (I usually use cremini but will mix it up depending on what I have)
dried mushrooms (rarely do I use them, I once bought some from Whole Foods and didn't realize until I got home that I paid $80 for a package! "who do you think you are, Ivanka Trump?" thankfully the Mr. returned them for me but will never let me live it down!)
3 tablespoons butter
4-5 cups organic chicken/veggie stock
thyme (dried but will use fresh in the summer!)

this is the stock I use- I go thru ALOT of it and it also comes in vegetable as well.

Using a high sided pot, saute you sliced onions in a little olive oil until transparent around edges on low heat about 8 minutes. Melt your butter than add 'shrooms stirring with wooden spoon so mushrooms all get a little time on bottom of pan browning. Sprinkle in your thyme. Stir every couple of minutes for about 8 minutes- I also like to gently break up my shrooms a little as I stir to speed it up. Next add your stock, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. At this point I blend it, you could add cream if you like or leave it as is and of course season. Ever since I picked up a Magic Bullet I've been loving it. Mostly I use it grind my coffee beans but for soups it's great. I once burned my arms blending hot soup and I don't want to mention the mess I had to get off the ceiling! Some people use a little handheld job to blend but I must say the seal tight bullet is awesome. I can't blend it all at the same time so I do it in 2-3 batches. I like this soup a bit chunky anyways.. To serve I like a little goat cheese sprinkled on top. This is easy and yum, can usually get it on the table in 30 min sometimes less.

Queen of Beef Stew (I declare)

Beef stew is definitely one of the favorites around hear and I never make it the same way twice, it all depends on what's near death in the fridge. I mean what's fresh, seasonal and available. This one was with butternut squash, carrots, celery, a few potatoes and a tomato base. Other times I'll do potatoes and mushroom base. Sneaking in cauliflower and other veggies is always a good move. Even some pureed spinach wouldn't turn this dish into a green nightmare ((wink)). What I love about beef stew is preparing it in the morning and then throwing it in the stove at low heat. By lunch time the whole house smells glorious and the boys are climbing into their highchairs demanding lunch. There is always enough left over for dinner and I keep my creuset warm and serve brown rice with it later. No one ever complains of eating this twice in one day, in fact, I think my husband probably stands in fridge and eats it for breakfast the next day.



I included this photo to show how to easily peel a squash. I don't even want to get into how difficult it used to be for me to peel a squash before I discovered this technique!



olive oil
knob butter (he he)
1 onion peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 pounds of stewing beef cubed
sea salt
flour to dust
2 handfuls of baby carrots
2 stalks celery
a butternut squash peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 pound potatoes
1/2 small tin of tomato puree
2 cups beef or veg stock
1/2 bottle red wine (if you have some! if not I just increase the stock by about 3 cups)

Preheat oven to 300. Saute your onion in oil and butter until it is translucent around edges- low heat so you don't burn! Add garlic and saute a couple minutes. Next add your roughly chopped veggies and mix. Lightly dust your beef with flour and salt and add to pot with stock, wine, tomato puree. Bring to a boil and then place lid on top, cook in oven until tender. This usually takes a couple hours. You can test it by taking out a piece of meat and mash with fork, if it falls apart it's ready then you can turn oven down to 225 until your ready to gobble it up. Sooooo good with bread.

some other suggestions are yams (any root veg), Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, mushrooms, zuchinni...
..and, when I use mushrooms I don't use tomato paste.

Jamie Oliver suggests mixing lemon zest, finely chopped garlic, chopped rosemary and sprinkle over stew before eating. umm, never tried this but sounds good! The other suggestion I discovered is that it's not necessary to brown the beef. This cuts the prep time down ALOT.

3 minute dinner

This is my cheat dinner. Cook the pasta in some boiling organic chicken stock and add frozen peas and corn at the last minute. A little parma and your done. Easy Peasy.

Butternut Squash Soup

There are many days when I feel like I'm not the best mom around.
-the kids have watched more than one Disney flick.
-lunch is only one colour and it came from a box.
-we are all wearing our pj's for said lunch.
-kinda yelled when boys dumped their food all over table then start rubbing plates on their heads.
-my child is the only one flayling around on the floor and whailing at nursery school pick-up.

And then there are days that are so long and so hard but I'm doing it and doing it well. Like today. Makes the other days slip away and gives me the confidence to keep putting my best forward. Reasons why today rocked;
-alone with all 3 kids for whole day
-kept my patience while dealing with all three kids fighting over momma for most of day. (by fighting I mean clinging to me crying and pushing other children that are crying and trying to cling.
-we all had a healthy breakfast
-we were washed and out of pj's by 9am
-healthy, homemade lunch with homemade bread
-while boys napped, Deja and I sat quietly on couch talking about alphabet and she concentrated for half an hour.
-made a succesful, delicious soup without aid of recipe books (hence title of post)
-fun trip to Lowes where I purchased enough light bulbs (18) to replace all the hologen lights that have burnt out months ago. Nagging husband didn't work.
-tucked all children into bed, happy, tummies full by 7pm, dishes done by 8.

Butternut Squash Soup (origional recipe by moi)


1 red onion
2 tblspn butter
glug olive oil
4 apples
1 lrg butternut squash
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 cups veggi or chicken stock

Caralmize the chopped onions in the butter and olive oil. (saute onions stirring often over medium heat. When they start to turn brown (after about 15 minutes) stir every minute or so. When they are dark brown they are done. the whole thing takes about 20 minutes.) Add chopped up cored apple, don't worry about peeling. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add peeled and chunks of butternut and cumin. Pour in about 4-5 cups of organic chicken or veg stock. Bring to a simmer then clap on the lid- at this point it was in the afternoon and we had to go out so I put my "le cruset" in the oven that was on at 225. I let it roast for about 4 hours. If your not going to do that you could let it simmer with lid half on for at least 45 minutes. Closer to dinner I let the soup cool a little and blended it in blender (you could use a hand blender too.) Heat it back up if you have to and season it too your liking!

I also toasted the seeds from the quash and used as a garnish and convinced Deja they were just like chips- a little sea salt goes along way. Now- feeding soup to toddlers can be pretty annoying so what I usually do is tear up large chunks of bread and put in shallow bowl of soup. Crackers they can dip are also good. Regardless, it was a bit of a mess but they do have to learn sometime.

Red Lentil Stew

Using a good basic knowledge for soup and stew making, you can find room to make up new recipes depending on what you have hanging around the fridge. I try to use alot of legumes and lentils as they are so good for us. This stew was easy and pretty quick to make as I used small red lentils which don't require soaking over night and cook within a half hour or so. It doesn't look like much (looks mushy and kinda yuch) but once the kids tried a bite they loved it. It's getting that first bite in that's hard so pull out your bag of tricks!

1 large red onion (I like the flavour of r onion the best, but you could use other)
clove of garlic
couple of tomatoes
two handfuls of carrots (I used baby carrots sliced length ways)
two handfuls of french green beans with ends snipped
cup of frozen corn
bag of red lentils
3 chorizzo sausage (I get a really yummy kind that is not spicy. you could use ground turkey, beef, chunks of chicken or just skip the meat)
about 5 cups of organic chicken stock
touch of cinnamon

If your using meat, brown it first in the pot your doing your stew in, after its browned put on a plate and set aside. For the sausage, I cut open the casing and brown the filling, breaking up with spoon while stirring. Chop up the onion and garlic and let simmer in a little olive oil on low. (you can also use a little of the excess fat left from browning meat.) Its important not to burn them as it will really effect the flavour. I like to put on low and place lid part way on to let them sweat a little, cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Chop up tomato and add to onion mixture, cook untill tomato has pretty much disolved, breaking it up with your wooden spoon while stirring. At this point I add the carrots and sprinkle of cinnamon (and celery if you have.) and let cook a little, about 5 minutes. Rinse your lentils in a large bowl and then add them to stew, stirring it in. Turn heat up a bit and add your chicken stock and meat, bringing it to a boil and then let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring once in awhile. About 5 minutes before you want to serve it add your corn and beans so they won't be over cooked and nice and crunchy.

I cook alot with my 'le creuset' and find it easy to get most of it ready while the kiddies nap and then pop it in the oven on low for most of the afternoon and then dinner is done. You can do this with any pot really and also a slow cooker if you have one. Get everything simmered and together on the stove top and when your at the part were you bring the mixture to a boil that's when you can pop lid on and into the oven or slow cooker.

Pasta Peas!

Pasta Carbonara and Spring Peas
This recipe has been scooped from Jamie OLiver's "Jamie's Dinners" cookbook. An easy recipe that everyone loves.
1 lb pasta (Jamie says farfalle, I use whatever I have around)
1 egg
7 tablespoons heavy cream
sea salt and ground black pepper (i find the bacon leaves it salty enough)
12 slices of pancetta or bacon, roughly sliced
couple sprigs mint (if you have some!)
couple handfuls of fresh grated pamesan cheese

Bring large pan of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Whisk the egg, the cream and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Cook your bacon or pancetta untill crisp in a second pan and set aside.

When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas for last minute and half. When cooked, drain and save a little of the cooking water. Add pasta to bacon and stir in most of the mint (finely sliced).

Now add the egg and cream mixture to pasta. Make sure you add while the pasta is still hot so that the heat of the pasta will cook the egg but not so they resemble scrambeled eggs. Should give you a silky smooth sauce. Toss together and loosen with reserved cooking water if you have to. Season and sprinkle with parma. Serve right away.

Simmered Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings

There has been alot of postings of desserty things lately so I thought I'd give the sweet tooth a rest and move onto some greens.. This recipe is also from the above mentioned Gourmet magazine featured as a Southern dish. I'm going to copy it out how it appears in the mag but when I tried it out I skipped the bacon, making it a quicker dish to prepare and it was still very yummy.

1 piece (1 pound) slab bacon (? umm... I'm sure reg thick bacon would be fine)
3 qt water
3 lb mixed greens such as collard, mustard, and turnip
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

Score bacon 2 or three times (do not cut all the way through) then simmer in water in a large pot covered for an hour.
Discard any coarse stems from greens and coarsley chop leaves. Add greens, couple tsp's of salt and one of pepper to bacon and cooked uncovered, stirring occasionaly for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cornmeal, brwn sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt, then blend in butter well with finger tips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand 5 minutes. With wet hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls.
Gently place dumplings on top of greens. Cook, covered and undisturbed, over low heat untill greens are very tender and silky and dumplings are puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard bacon, season.

sweet potato gnocchi

sweet potato gnocchi, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

this is so yum. the recipe is from my favorite foody site, epicurious. the kids had alot of fun helping me roll the dough.

2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork

1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish
Preparation

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.

chili with a cornbread topping

chili with a cornbread topping, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

I'm sure everyone has their own way to make chilli so I won't go into too much about the actual chilli. For me it's all about the cornbread topping- I love this. I just got a 'le creuset' so I am looking forward to making the chilli in it, then simply pouring cornbread batter on top and thowing the whole thing in oven. Previously I did the chilli in a pot them transfered to a casserole then poured the cornbread on top then baked.

the chili
First I saute a few large onions and a couple cloves of garlic in some olive oil. (don't all great recipes start this way?) Alot of the times when I'm chopping more than one onion I just throw it all in food processor. It's nice to have onions chopped into small bits as the toddlers in my house recognize them and then won't eat it. ("mamma, it's diiirrrr-ty!) Add a bit of cumin, ground coriander, and dried chilies- I always add a tiny bit as it doesn't seem like chilli if there isn't a bit of heat and its a good way to introduce a little spice to the kids. Depending on whats living/hanging in the veggie crisper I'll chop up some other veggies and add at this time (carrots, celery, red/green pepper, califlower, zuchinni and how could I gorget to mention corn! a little sweet and a bit of crunch- I know this is a bit for fetched for chilli but I like to bump up veggi content when I can.) While this is all browning I get busy with a can opener and open a few large cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of kidney beans (this changes depending on what I have, chickpeas, white beans, black beans... it's also good to rinse as you wash off the salty briney goo) can of tomatoe paste and dump it all in. Add a little ketchup and water untill the sauce is a deep red colour then while stirring, bring it all to a boil then turn down to a simmer partially covered for at least 40 minutes. (I found a recipe that suggested sprinkeling cocoa in mixture when its at a boil- not bad!) I usually make chilli vegi, or sometimes I'll do ground turkey/ If doing meat I usually brown it after the onion part.

the cornbread
this recipe is a Nigella one. I don't make chilli anymore without making this to go with it. It's so yummy and with a little guacamole and sour cream a complete meal. Sorry about the wierd cup sizes but the conversions are a little wacky.

1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2.8 cups cornmeal
4 tablespoons plain flour
6 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
750 ml buttermilk
4 eggs
2 teaspoon honey
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cups cheddar cheese, coursley grated

combine the salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and oil mix well then stir it into dry mixture making a vivid yellow batter. Pour over top of chilli to cover. Sprinkle cheese on top of cornbread then bake in oven for 30 minutes (@375) untill it's risen a bit and golden. Let cool before digging in. I also like to serve with an extra sprinkle of sharp cheddar, and some cool sour cream and some tortilla chips.

The kids love this, even the extra picky 3 yr old. They are a little stinky afterwards but then, so am I...

Risotto

Risotto, originally uploaded by D.Andrea.

This recipe is from my newly aquired "Apples for Jam" recipe book. It's a great book and has alot of recipes that I'll add to my regular cooking. I love that it uses stuff I allready have on hand so I'm not running around trying to find some kind of elusive herb that is "essential" to a dish. It's organized by colour which is a little wierd but I kind of like it. The book also makes me want to drop everything and move to the Italian countryside while my children ramble about in open fields playing fairies as I rattle about in our century old villa, state of the art kitchen of course, imagining what yummy things I will prepare next to fill up my family. Sounds good right? Sigh.

2 3/4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 french shallots (I used 1 small white onion)
1.4 cups risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine (I made it without and it was great)
4 cups hot vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
about 8 fresh sage leaves if you have them
4 eggs at room temperature

In a heavy bottom pan suitable for risotto, heat half the butter and 2 tblsp olive oil. Saute onion untill golden then add rice, stirring so that all of the rice gets coated and starts to go a little translucent on the corners. Add wine and after it evaporates
add all the broth with a few grinds of nutmeg and salt if required. Simmer uncovered on high heat about 15 min, or untill rice has absorbed the liquid stirring often. Make sure to try rice to see of it's cooked. If it needs more liquid add hot water. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter and some parmesan. Leave with lid on so that the steam will continue to cook while you do the eggs.

Heat some oil in a nonstick pan and quickly fry the sage until crisp, remove. Then continue to fry your eggs, untill golden on outside. I don't like my yolk overly runny so I usually cook mine with a lid on pan. Serve egg on top of rice with a sprinkle of parmesan and salt/pepper if needed. And the sage leaves.

This mostly white dish is pretty popular with the toddler set. If it was up to my 3 year old she would be on an all-white diet, with the occasional allowance for red tomato sauce. This was fast and yummy, great for a quick hot lunch.

Pancakes

STOP right there- this is it, the pancake recipe that'll make you banish all instant pancake mixes, and even want to make them for dinner. At least I think so and I've tried out ALOT of recipes. One of the things I love about it is it makes a nice thick pancake that you can cook fruit into, making it even healthier for the kiddies. AND its really easy and uses stuff you usually have in the kitchen.



3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar (the origional recipe called for a full cup, I suppose you could eliminate it totally too, I chose somewhere in between...)
4 tblspn butter (melted)
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup brown flour (feel free to play around with the white to brown flour ratio)
1/4 cup of wheat germ or ground flax seed maybe bran (have'nt tried that one yet!) basically any nutrient-boosters you may have around to sneak in on the kids.
1 cup milk
1 tblspoon baking powder
pinch salt

whisk egg, sugar and butter in med bowl.
add flour and milk alternating in 3 additions.
whisk in b. powder and salt.
laddle onto skillet, place fruit on uncooked side before flipping.

enjoy!!

Tuna Casserole

Tuna casserole
This is a great recipe I origionally found on Epicurious- I have made some mod's. The first time you make it you might feel like, "why am I going to all this trouble and messing all these pots for tuna frigg'n casserole!" It's worth it! I make it ALL the time and have got the prep time down. This is a great base for other kinds of casseroles, chicken, salmon, whole wheat pasta, fresh herbs, whatever! This is the perfect meal on a gloomy day and will leave you feeling full and loved! A big hug really. Sometimes I'll prepare it in the morning, wrap it, and then throw it in the oven just before dinner. The kids all eat this everytime.

1 large onion, chopped (finely chopped if you've got picky eaters! Also, I like the red onions)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick (4 cups)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 heads of broc or a bunch of frozen peas or zuchinni or califlower... you get the idea
2 cans tuna in olive oil, drained (use packed in water for less fat)
6 oz dried curly egg noodles (about 3 1/4 cups) I usually just use a pack of whatever
4 oz coarsely grated Cheddar (1 cup)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook noodles in a big pot of salted water. I always throw a steamer on top of the boiling water with the broc.

Cook onion in 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with a pinch of salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to moderately high and add mushrooms, then sauté, until mushrooms begin to give off liquid, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and continue to sauté mushrooms, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Remove from heat.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add broth in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Whisk in milk and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Add to mushroom mixture, and veggies. Flake tuna into sauce and stir gently. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (I find the soy sauce is enough salt)

Put the cooked noodles into baking dish and pour sauce evenly over and stir gently to combine.
Spread cheese over mixture. A half cheddar/parmesean mixture is good too.
(or you could do a bread crumb topping; toss together bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and toss again, then sprinkle evenly over casserole.)

Bake until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes.
I don't like my noodles to get too crispy so I loosley tent the casserole with tin foil and remove for last 10 min.

Fish Soup

Fish Friday Soup
Make a veg stock. Chop up a few onions, stalks of celery, carrots- or just throw it all in a food processor and let it do the chopping. Saute vegies in olive oil untill soft, at this point I added a few diced tomatoes, saute untill you can't see them anymore. Add about 4 cups of water and white wine if you've got some kicking around. Add seasoning- a couple of bay leaves, peppercorns, lemon, whatever eles you fancy. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer for approx 40 min. Turn off and let veggies steep a bit. Strain all the veggies out and throw. With the broth you have left, add whatever fish you've decided on and bring back to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for no longer than 20 min. When I made it I used shrimp, clams, chunks of salmon and baby bok choy. As I was feeding kids I also added noodles- they'll eat anything involving noodles. Noodles and cheese.

Potatoe and Leek Soup

SO EASY potatoe and leek soup
Cook about 6 med. potatoes in a large pot using chicken broth instead of water (there are some great organic, low sodium broths out there in the carton, watch out for chicken broths with msg) - enough broth so that it just covers the potatoes. I don't peel the potatoes, just dig out the eyes. The hardest part about this recipe is cleaning and slicing the leeks. I usually slice the leeks length ways (I don't use the drk green stalks although my m.i.l. totally disagrees with me and thinks I'm being wasteful. Mna do I love to bug her.) Soak them in a salad bowl with cold water for a few minutes, swish and rinse. Finely slice the leeks (about 3 stalks) and then saute them with about 3 tblspns of butter. Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off to let cool so you can blend. I hate to admit this but I once gave myself burns all the way up my arms by trying to puree hot soup in my blender. Thankfully this was before I had monsters running around in my kitchen. Ouch. Not to mention the mess I made all over the ceiling and walls. So now I blend soups in my food processor or, even better by using a hand mixer. After potatoes are mush add leeks and bring back to a simmer. This is when you can fix the consistency and season. Add more chicken broth if too thick or simmer to burn of liquid if you find it too runny. All my kids liked this one, so good with toast or a bit of cheese melted on top. Leeks are yummy.