With colder weather finally coming in, I tried making soup in my slow cooker. Based on a Betty Crocker recipe, I put in

• 4 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 6 leeks, sliced
• 1 box (32 oz.) chicken broth
• 1/2 stick of butter
• chopped garlic cloves (most of a head)
• salt and pepper

I set the whole thing to cook on low for 8 hours. After that, it all went into the food processor to be pureed smooth, and then I added a cup of half-and-half and heated through (another 20 minutes in the slow cooker on low).

I served it topped with baby bella mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter, based on a suggestion of Jane Irwin’s. And I learned two things: I am never again trying to make soup without first buying an immersion blender. And I’m not sure it was worth all the effort, given how I had to clean the crockpot and the food processor and do all that chopping.

What I would really like to find are two other soup recipes: one for a mushroom soup like they serve at Panera Bread (not cream of mushroom, but a more brothy style with garlic) and another for a good broccoli cheddar soup.