Baked Potato Soup

     
              Soup was something my mom always made from scratch.  We always had warm soups often in the winter.  Of course I would help.  I used to love stirring the onions in the pot.  They smelled so great.

              Now somewhere between childhood and my own adult life I went to "the can".  Ick, that I even did that.  I am ashamed to admit, but for a while I forgot that soup was something you could make at home with ingredients that were on hand.  Soup is not a hard thing to produce after all.  There's no mystery in it.  In fact I find it is one of the easiest meals to make.  Just look in your produce bin and you'll probably find the necessary ingredients.  For example, I had potatoes and onions.  Ok, potato soup!  For a kick, barbecue sauce.  You can find the recipe for barbecue sauce in the recipe for Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches here.

               A key ingredient in soup is some sort of stock or broth, so I always buy lots of chicken or vegetable broth and keep my pantry stocked.

               A hearty soup is an easy and nutritious meal to serve up to your family.



Ingredients

1. 5 potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
2. 1 Cup diced onion
3. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
4. 2 Cups low sodium chicken broth
5. 2 Cups half and half (you can use cream or light cream)
6. 2 bay leaves
7. 2 tsp salt
8. 1/2 tsp pepper
9. 1 1/2 tsp oregano
10. 1/2 Cup shredded cheese (you can use cheddar or colby jack)
11. 4 Tbl light sour cream
12. 4 Tbl barbecue sauce or to taste, plus extra for drizzling on top.

First dice up your potatoes and onions.  Place them in a pot heated at medium with 1 Tbl olive oil.

Stir for 5 minutes.  Then add the garlic.

Now add the broth and half and half.  Stir, then allow the mixture to come to a low boil.  Cover it now and let the potatoes cook.

After 20 minutes, check if the potatoes are cooked by trying to pierce through them with a fork.  If they are soft go to the next step.  If not let them go a few more minutes.

When the potatoes have softened, use an immersion blender and puree the potatoes, so that you have a creamy soup.  If it looks like the potatoes look clumpy, don't worry about it.  Just stir and it will all smooth out.  I am sure you can use a blender for this.  I haven't used a blender since I discovered the immersion blender many years ago.  If you don't have one, this is one kitchen tool I would definitely recommend.

Now you add the salt, pepper, and oregano.  Taste the soup now for the spice.  Adjust if necessary.

Next add the cheese and sour cream.  Stir until all is combined well.  Add the barbecue sauce.

Ladle the soup in a bowl, drizzle the top with barbecue sauce,  and enjoy a great meal.

So, say no to the can.  Rediscover the fun of making your own soup.