Potato Soup

Well, fellow blogger Evan’s recent post put me in the mood for potato soup, and while his recipe looked awesome, I didn’t have half the ingredients I needed to make it. So, still wanting potato soup, I made my own version.

If I’m completely honest, it doesn’t sound half as good as Evan’s, but I think it’s a little quicker/easier to make…and it turned out well, so I thought I’d share it.

You will need:

1 Can condensed mushroom soup
1 Can condensed Cream of Celery soup
Chicken stock/ chicken bouillon cubes
5 or 6 good sized potatoes
1 large onion
4-5 strips of bacon
Milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese.
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Salt, pepper, Mrs Dash (all optional)

Start by peeling and cubing the potatoes. As Evan suggested, you don't need to peel your potatoes... but all I had were red potatoes which have very waxy skins and will turn your soup purple...so I peeled.

Start your cubed potatoes boiling in lightly salted water while you combine the Mushroom soup, the Celery Soup and two cans of milk into a large stock pot or saucepan. Add a can of chicken stock or, if you're like me and don't have any chicken stock, dissolve 2 chicken boullion cubes in a can of boiling water and add that. Stir together and put over a medium heat until it starts to simmer.

While waiting for your potatoes to boil, chop up your onion and cut your bacon strips into small pieces. Drop the bacon into a hot skillet and, once browned, add the chopped onion and saute, stirring constantly until your onions have softened and are just starting to brown. Then, pour off the excess bacon grease and add to your main pot with the mushroom and celery soup.

Once the potatoes are fully cooked, drain and add those to the main pot as well. Add about a level teaspoon of garlic powder, a few shakes of italian seasoning, both cheeses...then cover, lower the heat to medium-low and let simmer for at least an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.

It's important to not add any salt, pepper or other seasonings until the soup has simmered. Even though the soup tastes pretty bland immediately after adding the last ingredient, allowing it to simmer brings out and develops all the flavors.

If anyone tries it, let me know what you think.