Potato Leek Soup and Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This is a naturally gluten free Weight Watchers recipe that I got from my buddy Kristen.  It is delicious and super fast and easy to make!

Potato Leek Soup

1 1/2 lbs. Baking Potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 Leeks, pale green and white parts only, cleaned and chopped

4 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium Chicken Broth (I used Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock)

1/2 tsp. dried Thyme

3/4 cup Half-and-Half (I further reduced the fat content by using fat free half-and-half…I use this all the time to replace cream in recipes)

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

• Combine the potatoes, leeks, broth and thyme in a large saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

• Puree the soup in a food processor or blender (I used an immersion blender), in batches if necessary.  Return the soup to the pan, stir in the half-in-half, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute longer to heat through.

I added a salad and I also made some homemade cranberry sauce.  Outside of the added sugar in the cranberry sauce, cranberries are a really good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) and Vitamin K, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Manganese. Cranberries are also high in antioxidants…  which of course cancels out the sugar, right? 🙂

Cranberry Sauce

1 12-oz. bag Cranberries

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Water

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the cranberries and simmer until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes).
• Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Sam: “I really like it, but I still think the circle kind is better.”

Luke: “Jello, I like it!”