Potato Soup

A week full of rain and thunderstorms always calls for some warm soup.  I was recently surprised to find out that potato soup was Christian's favorite soup.

"WHAT?  You mean taco soup, chicken tortilla and white bean chili, the three soups I always make, aren't your absolute favorite?  Are you on drugs?"

So I threw away my grocery list organized by aisle and started anew with the ingredients I needed to make a potato soup. I wanted a soup that had additional vegetables like this recipe, but I also wanted to hide some puréed cauliflower in the soup like this recipe.  I decided to combine them and it was a success!

•  6 small-medium russet potatoes
• small head of cauliflower, chopped and steamed
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• half of an onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups fat-free chicken broth
• season with: parsley flakes, salt, black pepper and cajun seasoning

Toppings:

• bacon (I chopped 6 strips)
• shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• green onion (not photographed because I forgot, whoops!)

Wash your potatoes and cook them in the oven or microwave - whichever you prefer.  I'd like to say I cooked them in the oven but that would be a lie...because I start cooking when I'm hungry = mistake.  I pierced these suckers with a fork and let them take shifts in the microwave.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice your bacon and begin cooking it in a stock pot or large pot.  I resisted the urge to buy turkey bacon and bought low-sodium bacon instead...making Christian tell me when it's done because I think this was the first time I'd ever cooked it.  I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed.

Wash and chop your cauliflower, steaming it with water in a semi-covered pot.  Once cooked, drain and chop again.

Chop your celery, onion and carrots and mix them with your cauliflower.  Add the chicken broth and milk.  

*NOTE:  I added all of this to the stock pot when in actuality I should have immediately put it in my blender.  I'll go straight to the blender next time.  You want to make sure the cauliflower is really puréed - it blends so well with the potatoes.

Perfect!

Pour the mixture back into your stock pot and add the sour cream.  Peel and chop the cooked potatoes. Toss 2/3 of them in the blender with 3-4 cups of the puréed mixture.  Blend until smooth and pour the mixture into the stock pot along with 1/3 of the remaining potatoes - you want some texture.

Season to taste with salt, black pepper, parsley flakes and cajun seasoning.  I like spicy so I added more cajun seasoning than the average person...the key is to season and taste, season and taste, until you hit your perfect balance.  Keep in mind you'll be adding bacon and cheddar cheese before serving, so that will add some additional salt to the overall taste.

Put on your rainy day sweatpants and sprinkle your bowl of soup with cheese and bacon.  Yum!