It's a soup day! Hearty Potato Soup

This is what I mean when I say I often make changes to my menu.  No worry, the meal I had planned for tonight can wait in the freezer until I need it.  Today is cold and yucky and I need nice hot soup.  So soup it is.  This is a really easy one (actually most soup is easy).  You can make the recipe as is and you will have 3 quarts of soup-enough for eight 12 oz servings, or cut it in half.  If you make the whole batch but only need half, freeze the rest.  Another free meal! 

This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law when I was first married.  I have tweaked and changed it a bit, but I still call it Nana's Potato Soup.    From start to finish it took me one hour, that includes peeling and cutting all the potatoes.  If you do the potatoes and onions the night before and store them in the fridge in water it will probably take 20-25 minutes off your time.  The choice is yours.

NANA'S POTATO SOUP

6-8 medium to large potatoes peeled and cut up

1 large onion peeled and sliced

2 T butter

1 T beef base (or 4 beef bullion cubes)

Pepper to taste
  

8 cups of water

1 16oz. container of sour cream (I always use fat free)

Melt butter in a TALL pot and add onions.  Cook over medium heat until they are soft.  Add potatoes, water, beef base and pepper.  Raise heat and bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, lower heat to medium so you have a slow boil. Cover. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft.  Remove from heat.

The following step will depend upon what kind of kitchen appliances I have.  I use an immersion blender (also called stick blender).  I put the blender right in the pot and "mash" the potatoes.  I like mine kind of chunky, so I don't mash too much.  Another way to do this is with a hand mixer, put it right into the pot. (This is why I told you to use a tall pot; it contains the splashes)  If you don't have either one of these you can use an old fashioned potato masher.  Another alternative is to process small batches in your blender or food processor.  I do not recommend this because it's messy, can easily over process and turn into glue, and finally it is dangerous.  If the hot liquid splatters, you can become burned.  If the mixture seems to thick you can thin it down with a little milk or water until you are happy with the consistency.  Finally, ladle a few scoops into a bowl, add the sour cream and mix well.  Add this mixture back to the soup and mix.  (This is called tempering, adding a cold sour cream to hot soup can cause curdling; this step prevents that.)

You are ready to serve with a salad and some crunchy bread.  You can garnish with chives or crumbled bacon if you wish, but we like it just the way it is! 

Try it and let me know what you think.  Please feel free to leave questions or comments in the section below.  I will try to answer questions within 24 hours. 

Happy Cooking,

Carol