A Steam Cleaner & a New Recipe

It has been a long few days of cleaning and errands and chasing after a wily adventurous toddler.  Today though I did score an awesome steam cleaner to use for our carpets (my toddler and my husband wreak havoc on our carpets...seriously, my husband too; the other day he dropped a glass of cranberry juice onto our beige colored carpets), and I am so so so excited! :)  It is a Bissell Little Green Proheat Turbobrush Compact Multi-purpose Deep Cleaner and I bought it at Target.  A friend of mine has been using one and had great reviews about it and I read online reviews that also raved about it.  Also this steam cleaner uses environmentally-friendly cleaners too - sweet!  It is also compact (you might have picked up on that from the enormous name) which means it will be easy to lug around and clean our carpets.  I thought this was a worthy investment since I won't have to waste money going out and renting one and I can own my own and steam clean my carpets every now and then without shelling out big bucks to rent a huge commercial one.  Needless to say, I am very excited (I'm sure you all couldn't pick up on that).  :)  Once I use it for the first time, I will try and remember to let you all know what I thought of it. 

 >Photo comes from Target link provided above<

Now for the recipe that I promised.  Remember the Baked Potato Soup recipe I posted back in November?  This is a better potato soup and we even liked the old one! :)  I love love love this potato soup recipe and we will definitely be making it again. 

***This recipe comes from Passionate Homemaking - please go here to give Lindsay credit for her wonderful recipe. While you're there, check out her wonderful blog!  :)  The recipe below is hers and my commentary is all the words that are italicized inside the brackets {}.  Enjoy!

Tuscan Style Potato Soup

5 medium russet potatoes

4 T unsalted butter

2 medium leeks (white & green parts) or 1 large onion, sliced and rinsed well

{We didn't use the leeks or onion and it turned out fine}

3 garlic cloves {or the equivalent in garlic powder}

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

{We used regular black pepper because I couldn't find white pepper  at the store}

4 cups chicken broth homemade or canned {we used organic in a carton}

1/2 lb sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled {we only did a little bit for a garnish; 1/2 lb seemed like a lot}

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4-5 kale leaves, chopped, more or less as desired {we used 3 - I suggest chopping up small so it is smoother going down and don't have to chew up the kale leaves; very nutritious element in this soup, so don't skip if you can}

 1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Scrub the potatoes, pat dry, and pierce several times with a fork.  Set them directly on the oven rack and bake until tender, about 1 hour.  Let cool completely on a cooling rack.  {We microwaved them because we ran out of time before dinner and didn't want to wait an hour just to cook the potatoes.}

2. Combine butter, leeks/onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.  {Since we didn't do leeks/onion, we just cooked until butter melted.}

3. Add the chicken broth to the leek/onion mixture.

4. Cut the cooled potatoes in small 1/2 inch cubes.  Remove peel on one or two of the potatoes.  Set aside one cup of diced potatoes {this will be used to give a little bit of chunky texture to the smooth soup}.  Throw the remaining potatoes into the pot with the leeks/onion.

5. Puree the contents of the pot in batches in a blender until smooth {the texture is one of the best parts of this soup so follow these instructions as best you can}.  Return the soup to the pot and reheat over medium-low.

6. Whisk together the milk and sour cream and then whisk into the soup, along with the reserved 1 cup potatoes, and cheese.  Add chopped kale and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so.  Season more with salt and pepper as desired.

7. Serve garnished with cheese, bacon bits, or green onions, as desired. {We garnished it with cheese and bacon bits, but this could also be a vegetarian meal if you didn't don't do bacon bits, and we served it with some whole wheat french bread too - great for dipping.}

Yields: 6 - 8 servings