Potatoes and Leeks

This weekend, I went to a birthday party for my husband's aunt's 90th birthday. While there, his cousin, Rene, offered everyone squash and leeks. I managed to come away with 2 large, beautiful leeks, 2 acorn squash and 1 small spaghetti squash. Since we got potatoes in the last share, I decided to try my hand at potato leek soup. Now, I usually spend a lot of time searching recipes and making a gameplan, but this morning I was in a hurry, so I just threw things in my Crockpot and went to work. I will admit I had some anxiety, and there are some things I would do differently next time, but overall, I ended up with a very tasty soup.

 Potato Leek Soup with Cheddar and Bacon

•  2 large leeks
•  8 small potatoes* 
• 3 medium carrots*
•  32 oz chicken stock
•  2 cups water
• 1 sprig sage
•  1/2 1b bacon
•  2 cups shredded cheese (I used extra sharp white cheddar)

 Trim the leek (use only light green/white part). Cut in half lengthwise and wash out sand. Thinly slice the leeks. Add to the Crockpot.

 Peel and chunk the potatoes; add to the Crockpot. Peel the carrots and cut to 1-inch pieces; add to the Crockpot. Pour chicken stock and water over the vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Cool soup slightly and blend,using an immersion blenderor regular blender, until chunky. Return to Crockpot, add cooked, crumbled bacon, cheese and sage. Cook until cheese is melted and sage has flavored the soup. Remove sage and adjust seasoning (salt and pepper) if needed.

Note: while this soup turned out very tasty, you could probably double the potatoes and carrots and have a much heartier soup. Also, I prefer sharp cheeses in these types of soups, but you could just as easily use mild cheddar or Swiss if you prefer.

* CSA ingredients