Potato Soup with Apples and Brie

It's not much to look at, but it's really yummy. Instead of pureeing mine, I smashed the apples with a potato masher and then some of the potatoes. I like some potato chunks in mine. I also served mine in these yummy bread bowls!

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion

1/4 cup sliced leeks (whites only)

4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and quartered

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (or vegetarian to make it a vegetarian soup)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tea salt

1/4 dried thyme

3 cups fat-free evaporated milk (I used a mix of evaporated and regular)

6 small potatoes, peeled and sliced

4 ounces brie cheese, cut into small cubes

Directions:

1. Spray a soup pot with cooking spray.

2. Add the onion, leeks and quartered apples.

3. Saute over medium heat until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, salt and thyme and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Remove bay leaf, turn off heat and set mixture aside.

7. While the broth mixture is cooking, combine the milk and potatoes in a separate saucepan.

8. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

9. Pour the potato mixture into the soup pot; stir to mix.

10. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth, adding pieces of brie cheese while pureeing.

11. Return the pureed batch to the soup pot and heat until warmed through.