potato soup…

My husband loves Panera Bread’s potato soup. Sometimes we even go there just on a certain night, because that’s the night they serve it. I love Panera Bread in general, so I don’t usually complain, but since I’ve been working hard at budgeting and eating out less (I think he’d eat out every night if we could afford it – in fact that’s pretty much what he did before we got married…), I’ve been trying to find a good potato soup tosatisfy him at home. So tonight, after several not-as-good attempts in the past, I think I finally found a winner. He said, and I quote “that would be better than Panera’s if the potatoes were cooked a little less, but it’s definitely a keeper recipe.” It would be nice if he just said it was better and left it at that, but oh well, I’ll take it (and just remember to not cook the potatoes so long next time so he’ll have no complaints!) The recipe is based on a recipe I found online: Marie Callenders Cream of Potato Cheddar Cheese Soup. This recipe sounded really good, but since I didn’t have half of the ingredients and knew my picky-eater husband wouldn’t like some of them in it anyways, I ended up changing it significantly. Here is the “new” recipe the way I made it tonight:

Ingredients:

4 C. Finely Sliced and Diced Potatoes (peeled)

2 Tbsp. Butter

3 c. Hot Water

4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

8 oz Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 c. Milk (we only had skim and it turned out fine, but half-and-half was recommended in the original recipe)

2 T. Flour

1/2 tsp. Sugar

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste)

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Onion Powder

A few other Herb seasonings thrown in – whatever you like

Preparation:

Chop and peel potatoes, put in large pot. Mix chicken bouillon cubes in the hot water to dissolve, then pour water in pot. Place on medium low heat and cook until potatoes are very soft and tender.

When potatoes are done, mash the potatoes slightly but leaving most of them in chunks. Reduce heat and add milk, butter, seasonings, sugar and flour, stir mixture. Add shredded sharp cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is completely melted and dissolved into mixture. Let soup simmer very slowly for 5-10 minutes, making sure not to let it burn. Makes a very hearty, filling soup. Serves 4+