When I was little, one of my favorite foods to eat was the
Potato Soup my Mom made.
With cold weather hanging on, I've been cooking a steaming hot pot of hearty, satisfying soup each week.
Most people like soup and there are a couple of reasons for this. Soups warm you from the inside out and they're easy to make.
Also, leftover soup stirs well and usually tastes better the next day because the ingredients continue to interact and create a depth of flavor.
I usually serve a bread product with the soup based on the type of soup I'm cooking. Because of my southern upbringing, vegetable beef soup, chicken soup of any kind, and bean soups demand cornbread which I make from scratch.
Actually, I guess I should say mostly scratch because I begin with a self-rising cornmeal mix, Pearl Milling Self-Rising White Corn Meal Mix, which is a shortcut because it contains cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder. It comes in the version shown as well as a buttermilk version.
I add the other ingredients (NO Sugar as the recipe on the package lists that.) and bake it in an iron skillet that I use only for that. It comes out perfect every time.
If I'm making chili (no beans just meat, spices, and tomato) or chili stew—same thing but with beans added—I also serve cornbread, saltine crackers, or Fritos which turn chili into Frito Pie, a favorite of my Texan husband.)
Back to today's soup recipe. I've added my own touch to my Mom's recipe. If you like a really good baked potato, you're going to love this Baked Potato Soup. Serves 6.
Ingredients
2 cups diced raw potatoes
1/2 cup finely diced white or yellow onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
3 cups water
2 cups scalded milk
2 chicken bouilon cubes
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream (not fat-free)
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Optional Ingredients for Garnish
4 slices bacon, fried, fat drained, crumbled
grated cheddar cheese
finely sliced fresh chives
Directions
(1) In a 2 quart sauce pan, place the potatoes, celery, onions, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and water. Cook until potatoes are tender. Lower heat to a simmer.
(2) Add the milk, bouillon cubes, and butter. Stir until bouillon cubes are dissolved and butter melted.
(3) Mix the sour cream and the flour in a small bowl or measuring cup until well blended. Add this to the soup mixture, raise the heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly until soup is thickened and smooth.
(4) Taste and if not salty enough, stir in the other teaspoon of salt and add the black pepper according to your desire. Stir to blend and simmer a couple of minutes.
(5) Serve hot with a bread of your choice.
Cooking Note: Scalded Milk
In case you're not familiar with the term, "scalded milk," it's milk that is heated to just below the boiling point, about 180°F (82°C). That's hot enough to kill bacteria, but that's not the reason for scalding milk for a recipe.
Scalding changes the protein and enzymes in the milk, and that gives a smoother texture, flavor, and better stability to what you're cooking than using plain milk from the fridge. Scalded milk is often called for in making sauces, and the liquid part of this soup is actually a form of bechamel sauce.
Garnish: Garnish the soup with your favorites, just as you would add to a baked potato—crumbled bacon, grated cheese, and chives. Enjoy!
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
This post ran a little long for a recipe that is really simple and easy to make. Please leave a comment if you try this and like it.
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