Cream of Potato Soup for a Snowy Day

Brrrr...Baby it's COLD outside! Looking out my kitchen window I see the yard all covered in snow, with more big flakes drifting down to cover the swingset out back and the little pond next to our gazebo.  The grandkids are all bundled into their snowpants, coats, hats, and gloves to take a ride down the sledding hill behind our house. GoodMan is all bundled up too, as he clears the snow from our sidewalk and those of our neighbors. Time for some hot soup and fresh garlic breadsticks.

I decided on stick-to-your-ribs cream of potato soup because I knew everyone was working up a big appetite. Let me show you how I put it all together. Also ~ check back tomorrow and I'll show you how I made the garlic breadsticks.

This is not the type of recipe with exact measurements. Everything is done to taste and for the size crowd you're feeding. The day I made this soup there were 6 of us, and we had a little left over.

First thing I did was to chop an onion ~ I should have a stock photo for this because it seems so many of my recipes start with this step.

Next, I peeled potatoes...a lot of potatoes...but they weren't big ones...so I'd say 7 large or 12-ish small potatoes.

And then I chopped the potatoes...a lot of potatoes...sigh...

I put a little more than a half a stick of butter in the bottom of a soup pot and added the chopped onion. I turned the stove on medium high and cooked the onions until they were translucent.

I added about a tablespoon of garlic seasoning. I've been using Tastefully Simple's "Garlic-Garlic" seasoning, but you can use garlic powder and seasoned salt if you prefer.

Next I added about a quarter of a cup of real bacon pieces. I buy the real bacon pieces in the pouch in the salad dressing aisle. I don't usually have regular bacon in the house so the bacon pieces in the pouch come in handy for things like this as well as on top of salads and I sometimes put them on top of casseroles.

Then I added 1/4 cup of flour and stirred it around very well.

And now add the potatoes.

Add enough chicken broth to cover the potatoes and turn the temperature down to medium low.

Then put the lid on the pot and cook until the potatoes are tender ~ about 15 minutes. Stir it every once in a while...Mmmm...this is smelling yummy!!

It will look something like this...yummy, but not quite done yet...be patient...

Now the decadent, finishing touch. I added a pint of heavy cream. I just happened to have that left after a family gathering. Sometimes I use whole milk, and I've been known to use low-fat milk. May I just tell you...the more fat the better! You shouldn't always eat this way, but all the sledding and snow blowing should help work some of the fat off. After adding the cream be sure the soup does not come to a boil ~  if it does the soup will look curdled. It still tastes okay, but it doesn't look very inviting.

I wish you could put your face over this pot of soup. You'd inhale and feel warmth reaching from your nose all the way down to your toes! Time to grab a bowl, a spoon, and a couple of toasty warm bread sticks. I'm feeling toasty all over!

What is the taste tester's bottom line?

The grown-ups in our group gave this enthusiastic thumbs-up. The children were not so easily impressed. The kids liked it better when we pointed out the bacon pieces. They just didn't know if a soup made out of a vegetable could make a good dinner. That's okay, the grown-ups ate enough to make up the difference.

The bottom line: This is a good recipe for adults. If we want to please the kids we should make a separate pot of chicken noodle soup for them.