Monster and/or Tinkerbell Soup

My friend told me yesterday that she made her kids spinach soup the other day. The first thing they ask is if there was spinach in it. She said if she had said "yes", they wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole. So instead she served it to them calling it Monster Soup for her son (5 1/2) and Tinkerbell Soup for her daughter (3 1/2). They LOVED it!!! She said they both had 3, yes, THREE servings of it, all the while saying it was the best soup they had ever eaten. So that's all it takes to get your kids to eat veggies!! A name change! I have read on those expert sites that it can be a good idea and works for some kids. Love to hear your feedback on this one!


I don't have a picture for a couple of reasons. First my computer crashed (again) and I'm on either library or husband work computer (if he brings it home at night). So downloading pictures is tough. Then I was afraid that if I actually tried this on my kids it might completely backfire enough that I would be embarrassed to share. It was such a great idea I had to write about it before trying. Though it did cross my mind to put some water in one of my white bowls, add green food coloring, take a distant picture and call it good.


MONSTER TINKERBELL SOUP

Cream of Spinach Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chopped fresh spinach - packed - (or 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
1 1/2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or vegetable bouillon cubes for vegetarian option)
2 cups half-and-half (regular milk or even rice milk works here, too)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup sour cream
Optional: chopped chives and/or ground allspice for garnish (pixie dust and guts?)

Method

1 In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 3 minutes or until limp. Add potatoes, chicken broth, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add spinach and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer until spinach is tender.

2 Working in batches, purée soup mixture in a blender. Return to saucepan. Whisk in half-and-half, salt and pepper.

3 Over low heat, bring to just before simmering. Whisk in the sour cream. You may want to use an immersion blender to get the sour cream fully incorporated.

This soup can be served hot or chilled. Garnish with chopped chives, sprinkles of allspice, or a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 6 to 8.