Leek & Potato Soup

I just made some leek & potato soup. I winged it:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. EV olive oil
1 large Walla Walla onion, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1 large leek, sliced, white part only
salt & pepper
generous dash of ground Thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
4 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp. white wine
2 sm. celery stalks with leaves on
1 bay leaf
4 potatoes, peeled & quartered

Directions:
Saute the onions, shallot, & leek in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the spices & melt in the butter. Add the flour, mix to make a roux. Stir in the broth & wine. Add the celery & potatoes, bring to a boil, simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Discard the celery & bay leaf.

Normally I'm not a fan of the blender and I prefer my soups chunkier, but in this instance, because of all of onions, etc., I used the blender in an attempt to fool the kids. I'm calling it Baked Potato soup as far as they are concerned! LOL Also, you can first brown some bacon and add the onion/leek mixture to that as oppossed to the olive oil. I'm still trying to avoid red meat. Its really hard!!!

Update on my bleu cheese/pecan dip: I bought some from Trader Joes today and checked the ingredients. I was pretty damned close except theirs has milk, more spices, and preservatives. I tasted the TJ's dip and damned if mine isn't much better! ;) Theirs is a thinner consistency, whereas mine was much thicker. I'd probably thin my down a little bit next time, but I'm thinking I will stick with my home made version from now on!

Bleu Cheese & Pecan Dip

Trader Joes makes this delicious dip that is perfect for dipping celery, carrots, bell peppers, green beans, etc. I haven't had a chance to get up to TJ's recently, but I realized this morning that I have all the ingredients that I think I needed and I could try and whip up my own batch. It turned out super good and I thought I'd pass it on. It comes out to about 160 cals for 2 tablespoons, but I figure its one way to get a bunch of fresh veggies down my throat, so its worth it.

Trader Shelley's Blue Cheese & Pecan Dip:

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 oz low fat sour cream
3 oz bleu cheese crumbles (you could adjust more or less to your tasting)
1 oz pecans, smashed up into pieces
Cracked pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and enjoy! I love it with celery, in particular.