Potato Leek Soup

(This soup rocks! With the cooler season upon us you'll enjoy this "comfort food!")

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large leeks, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 2 lbs)
4 large russet potatoes, peeled, cubed (about 4 cups)
1-1/4 quart (5 cups) water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Heat oil in large stockpot on medium heat. Add leeks; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, water, salt and pepper; stir. Cover. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cool 10 minutes.

Add leek mixture, in batches, to blender container; cover. Blend until pureed. Return to stockpot.

Whisk in cream cheese, a few cubes at a time; cook on medium heat until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring constantly. Add milk; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives just before serving.

(Receipe from KraftFoods.com)

Table Centerpieces That Add Pizzazz

Whether you are planning a formal party, dinner party, or a potluck, you can give your event extra pizzazz with simple, low cost table centerpieces. Here are just a few ideas:

Fill five or six square, clear glass vases with an item that represents your party's theme or decor. For example, shells for a beach party, lemons and limes for a Mexican fiesta, ornaments for Christmas, or golf balls for a sports event. There's no end to what your imagination can think of and your guests will be talking for a long time about fantastic your table looked!

If you want to jazz the vase up a bit more, insert a long-stemmed flower into the center of the vase. You can use real flowers or silk flowers for this purpose. For example, if you are planning a Mexican fiesta you could insert the large, brightly colored paper flowers, in the center, if a sports event a college banner, or sports flag.

Another way to jazz up the vase would be to take either plastic, foam or styrofoam figures that are keeping with your theme and insert heavy-gauge florists wire into the bottom and then insert these into the center of the vase. For birthday parties or other themes you can find a lot of these types of items in your local craft store where the party favors are displayed.

Copyright M. A. Webb, 2005. All Rights Reserved

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michele is a Netpreneur with five websites and five Blog sites and has successfully marketed to a small niche market with little or no advertising budget. She likes to write articles and share her experiences with others as well as learn from others and their "secrets" and tips.

PUBLISHING AND REPRINT RIGHTS: You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted.