Warm Your Bones, Satisfying Soup - Chunky Potato Soup

From Roots And Renovations

I have probably said this before and I will probably say it again, I am not, absolutely not a fan of cold weather. Have you heard of seasonal affective disorder, also sometimes known as the winter blues? Yeah, I think I have that. No seriously, I sometimes wonder if I really do have that. I even looked up the symptoms, and while I don't suffer the classic symptoms: oversleeping, overeating, decreased appetite, when the weather falls below 70 and the days are mostly gray and dreary I get the blahs.

I don't claim to live a terribly exciting life, and for the most part, season to season my routine doesn't change much. But, once the temperature dips life seems to get boring, which is probably because I like to stay inside where it's warm and I guess you could say I start to withdraw a bit. There are few things I enjoy about the fall and winter months. I do enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas, most especially the baking and eating associated with the two. As I've mentioned previously, I enjoy all things pumpkin spice. Another thing I enjoy is making soup, which of course you can do year round, but it just seems so much better and more enjoyable when the weather is cool enough that you need a stick to your bones, warm you up meal.

With Mr. Picky Eater to feed I tend to stick with a few tried and true soups: vegetable beef, chili (with beans of course), chicken noodle vegetable and beef stew. I like trying different things and occasionally, I can get him to go along and every once in a while he will even admit to enjoying my experiments. One such experiment was my recent creation, Chunky Potato Soup. I've tried several different recipes in the past and although none were a disaster they weren't anything I was dying to make again. After looking at quite a few different recipes for inspiration I came up with my own simple and hearty version that will satisfy even a picky eater.

The verdict is that this soup is definitely worth making again. Unfortunately, I'm afraid my photo doesn't do it justice. Sorry about that!

Chunky Potato Soup

Recipe by Ms. Roots and Renovations

A hearty, chunky potato soup perfect for a cool day. Minimal effort with satisfying result, to warm your bones and fill your belly.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: 3 generous servings or if serving with a salad or sandwich 6 small servings

Ingredients

• 1/4-1/2 medium yellow onion (adjust amount to suit your taste)
• 1/2 package (16 oz) frozen hashbrowns (such as Ore Ida)
• 16 oz chicken broth (vegetable broth would work too)
• 1 1/4 cup milk (preferrably 2% or whole) or mixture of milk & half and half
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I prefer extra sharp cheddar)

Cooking Directions

1. Saute diced onion in butter/margarine until translucent.
2. In microwave, thaw hashbrowns about 1 minute, then pour into a colander and rinse with warm water (to remove any ice chunks/freezer fur).
3. Add rinsed hashbrowns and broth to sauteed onions. Bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Add milk or mixture of milk and half and half to pot, heat over medium, until hot, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Once hot, add crumbled bacon and grated cheese, stir until cheese is completely melted into soup.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve immediately, topping with additional crumbled bacon, grated cheese, and sliced green onions if desired.

Posted in: bacon,cheese,cooking,dinner,easy recipes,potatoes,recipes,soup