Potato Soup...

Even though it still isn't that cold here (boooo!!!) except for in the mornings, I have been wanting potato soup and last night I finally gave in to the cries of my weary-of-pizza-husband had all the ingredients so I ventured into the kitchen to create some yumminess. As usual, this is my mom's recipe, and other than the ungodly amount of time it takes me to peel potatoes, it's really not hard to make. If you are even remotely more coordinated with a knife than I am, this should be a breeze.

1. Scrub up a bunch of potatoes and peel away. (Don't hurt yourself like I usually do... but if it does take you forever, like me, feel free to engage in some mindless tv-watching.) 

2. Cover them with water and add some salt, then bring the water to a boil and let the potatoes get soft, but not too soft because the other stuff needs to settle in also and you don't want them falling apart.

3. You'll need milk, shredded cheddar cheese, butter, flour, and (drum roll...) the secret ingredient: cornmeal!

4. Add butter (half a stick or whole... Probably a half stick would be fine) and two cups of cheese to the pot and let it get melting.

5. Stir two tablespoons of flour into the milk BEFORE you add it to the pot. If you don't let the flour dissolve into the milk, it will get all clumpy in the hot water (ewww) and yes, I learned that the hard way the first time I made this.

6. Next add a couple of tablespoons of cormeal and stir it around... this adds a yummy texture to the soup, but if you don't like that graininess, you could just leave it out.

7. Take picture of camera-shy husband. (Just kidding... not necessary.)

8. Add salt and pepper (generously... potatoes need salt!) and let everything get all mixed and bubbly until the potatoes are nice and tender.

Clearly my goal is to dirty up as many dishes as humanly possible.

Waiting in joyful anticipation...

...to add some cheese to the top and enjoy!

I know there are a ton of "loaded" potato soups out there, but I'm pretty simple when it comes to mine. I'm not a big fan of all the fancy stuff... just cheese and potatoes. Obviously you could add bacon and chives or whatever you like but I like it plain like this. Also, I was just telling a friend that you could easily make this with fewer calories by using 1% or skim milk, reduced fat cheese, etc. Anyway, it's really good and was just as yummy at lunch today as it was last night. In fact, I'm planning on having it again for supper, along with these biscuits that Janssen posted about this morning... the ones I've been craving ever since.

Happy eating!

Ash