Hi All! I have been enjoying the holidays far too much to stop and take photos. Last night I cooked a prime rib, Yorkshire pudding (popovers—will post these soon!), roasted Brussels sprouts, pan roasted potatoes, and the list goes on including these amazing Chocolate Mint Parfaits. They were the perfect light and airy, minty finish to a heavy meal.

So this is a re-post but one of my favorite soups to make on the fly. I was sick when I first posted this, but I am not sick now, very thankfully. If you have been, then I wish you a speedy recovery and urge you to make this creamy spinach soup; it just might help.  It has a hint of nutmeg and was started with a few nice cloves of sauteed garlic, so believe me, even though it’s easy peasy, it’s really tasty and has many layers of flavor. The ingredients list is so small it’s almost embarrassing…almost.

Sometimes, when you are sick in bed, all you want is a nice homemade cup of soup to warm your insides, soothe your throat and ultimately make you feel so much better.  But if you are the cook at your household, like I am, then sometimes you are dreaming of the impossible.

The folks at my house have a long list of enviable strengths, but cooking is not one of them.  Well, actually, my twelve-year-old daughter is fast becoming an amazing cook, but soups haven’t dropped onto her radar yet.

So my point is this; If you are able to drag your butt out of bed, then honestly you can make this soup. It takes five minutes of actual prep time, so even if you are weak and weary or if you have just walked in the door after a long, tiring commute, you still can make this and you won’t hate me for it.  I promise, Girl Scout’s Honor and all.

First step is simple: In a stock pot, throw three cloves of  chopped garlic in with your butter and flour and make a nice, flavorful garlic-y roux. Saute for just a couple of minutes so it doesn’t burn.  If you have noticed from my photos, my foggy brain threw two cloves in with the spinach first and then I remembered so I sauteed the last one off.  Tasted great later…so no worries.

The next step is easy if you have a food processor.  I just throw the defrosted bag of frozen chopped spinach in with 1/2  c. of a carton of “No Chicken” broth and let the processor whir away into oblivion.

Having a food processor helps a ton, so if you don’t have one of those and you are truly on the brink of passing out from exhaustion, I might just get out the can opener if I were you and succumb to eating a bowl of store-bought soup.  Although, pulling the tab off a carton of your favorite organic Trader Joe’s soup or health food store soup might be a much better bet.

Finally, dump your processed spinach and soup into the pot, add the rest of the carton of soup, whole milk or half and half depending on how healthy you want to make this; dust in some nutmeg, white pepper and salt and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so. If you want it pureed, you can use an immersion blender or regular blender or simply eat it as is with a piece of toast.

If you are not sick and actually want to make this special, cut some small shapes out of puff pastry, bake and sprinkle on top.  I also like to dot mine with a little greek yogurt.  Some Naan and hummus might be perfect with this as well.  The accompaniment possibilities are endless.  Enjoy your soup and get better fast…OK?

Creamy-ish Spinach Soup adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Yields 4 bowls of soup…that’s it–no more, no less.
***Please read the fine print at the bottom of the directions if you want your soup EXACTLY like the one pictured at the top.
1 10 oz package defrosted chopped spinach
1 1/2 c.- 2 c. of  a carton of “No Chicken”, chicken or vegetable stock (mild)
2 cloves of garlic
2 T. Flour
2 T. butter
1 c. (you can put in less if you prefer) whole milk, or half and half or other milk substitute that works for you)
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 -1/2 t. white pepper to your taste (or ground black if that is what you have)
1/2 t. – 3/4 t. sea salt to your taste

Garnishes:
Greek yogurt dollop
Triangle toast points or fancier…
Cut shapes from defrosted frozen puff pastry and bake at 350 for ten minutes.  Use to sprinkle over the soup.
Fresh parsley, chopped and sprinkled over

First chop your garlic.  Melt the butter in your stock pot on medium heat, add the garlic, stir.  Add the flour and cook for three minutes stirring on medium.  Turn off the pot.  Put your defrosted chopped spinach and 1/2 c. of broth into a food processor and process on high for a couple of seconds until pulverized.  Add the spinach mixture to your stock pot and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get all the good bits at the bottom.  Saute on medium-medium high heat for a couple of minutes, stirring now and then, and then add the rest of the broth and the milk.  Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to your taste and simmer for ten minutes.

If you would like a pureed soup, then use an immersion blender or pour small batches of the soup into a blender and puree making sure to TIGHTLY FIT THE TOP ONTO the Blender, and remove the little circular cap inside the lid to prevent an explosion. COVER THE open cap with a clean folded kitchen towel; otherwise face burns…not fun.

***Fine Print: The soup pictured above actually has double the amount of spinach…i.e. two bags of chopped frozen spinach and 16 oz of broth and still only 1 c. of milk.  I like a very spinach-y soup. This will yield approx. 6-8 bowls of soup***