Quick Chunky Potato Leek Soup with White Pizza Bagels

I love making soup this time of year. As soon as cooler weather starts, I want soup. I like to make big batches of soup that take hours to simmer so I can freeze some for later and still have some left over to enjoy a few more meals. Not to mention they make the house smell yummy and feel cozy. But sometimes, I need quick. And it still has to be delicious. This is one of those soups, and paired with the bagel, it's very filling.

This recipe as is will make enough for two adults and two children, with larger bowls for the adults and smaller bowls for the children. You might even have a little left over.

Projected prep time: 15 minutes; Projected cook time: 30-45 minutes

Soup:

1 carton Imagine Organic Potato Leek Soup

1 medium white onion, diced

4 medium red potatoes, skin on, cubed

(Optional: 1 tbsp. Watkins chicken soup & gravy base - omit if dairy/soy free - or a little chicken stock, omit if vegan. Gives a good flavor)

1 c. water, possibly a little more if needed to thin some

Sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

White pizza bagels (omit if vegan or egg-free)

1 whole Udi's bagel, thawed and halved

3/4 c. ricotta cheese (omit or use dairy-free option for dairy-free)

Shredded mozzarella (omit or use dairy-free option for dairy-free)

1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed, depending on how strong you like your garlic

Chop potatoes

And onions

Pour soup into saucepan

Add onions and potatoes and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer but hot enough to cook potatoes, stirring often to prevent sticking on bottom. Add chicken soup base or chicken stock if your are using it, and water. Cook until potatoes are cooked through.

While soup is cooking, make your pizza bagels. I do this in the toaster oven. Note that I haven't been able to get my hands on the new whole grain bagels Udi's just came out with. I'm very excited to try them when I can,  and I'll most likely be using those instead of the plain ones when I'm able.

In small bowl, combine ricotta and pressed or minced garlic. Spread generously over each bagel half. Note if you don't have a ricotta replacement and aren't able to have dairy, you can try roasting the garlic cloves whole first and then spreading the softened garlic over the bagels. If you don't plan to top this with any type of shredded cheese, you probably want to toast the bagel halves before putting the roasted garlic on top.

Top each half with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella, or whatever replacement you are using.

Bake in toaster oven at about 400 degrees until both cheeses are heated through, then switch to broil to get the cheese nice and melted and brown on top.

 Cut each half in half and serve warm with a bowl of soup.