Potato Soup

When my boys come home from college I ask them what would they like for dinner while they are here. Since they have been either in the case of Conner have been eating in the cafeteria or Nolan eating what ever that days cook decides to make.

It always surprises me that they ask for soup, just simple soup .  I think it might have something to do with the fact that when all the kids were home soup was on the menu often with large loaves of homemade bread in the winter and large salads in the summer. Little did they know it was because it was cheap, easy and filling and feeding one more friend for dinner wasn't a big deal.

So I make them soup.  Their favorites are potato soup, creamy chicken soup, chicken soup, and beef barley. Today I am sharing how to make the potato soup, writing it here makes an easy spot for me to send the older kids to when they call and  ask how to make it.

It can be made in a crock pot or on the stove top. If you make in the crock pot you can prep it the night before or the morning of.

1. Peal and cut into chunks potatoes I figure 2 potatoes per person I like to use the golden ones but the basic white ones work well to.  Unless you are Sarah in which case you don't peel the potatoes which she prefers, but her brother when he visit says it's not  like mom's

2. Don't forget to rinse the potatoes then place them in the crock pot, add enough chicken broth to just cover the potatoes. I use homemade broth but any type of chicken broth canned, boxed, cubes can work.

3. Dice an onion and add to the pot.

4. If prepping the night before cover and place in the fridge the potatoes will not brown as long as they are covered by the liquid. Otherwise turn on the crock pot on low and go to work, the pool,enjoy your day. If making on stove top, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork.

5. Just before dinner I use my very handy stick blender, or you could use a potato masher to mashup the potatoes. Add 1 can of evaporated milk, heavy cream or regular milk really what you have on hand, but the heavy cream will make it very creamy and rich. I also add one can of corn drained and one can of cream of corn. You can use frozen corn just cook before adding it.

6. Then stir in the shredded cheese so it melts, I like cheddar about 16 oz . But we have used Colby, Taco, etc the flavor just changes a bit.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste

8. If you like serve with sour cream and more cheese on top.

9. left overs can be stored in the fridge and will thicken a bit but should thin after re heating, ( for my children please toss the left overs within 4 days ) they can also be frozen in which case when reheating you will need to stir often and maybe add more liquid.

Enjoy