Good Ole Potato Soup

We are smack dab in the middle of winter in FL.

It's 80 degrees, brrrrrr, and time to make my all time favorite soup.

Potato Soup

You say potato..

I say tater.

So here's how I make my Tater Soup.

a common misspelled word by people like me: potato -singular; potatoes -plural

Peel and cube 5 lbs of potatoes.  I like Idaho / russet potatoes for soups.

Did you know they are the same?

Cook until done but still firm enough to stay together and not smooshy done.

This is a science that takes years to perfect.

Drain and reserve 1 cup of the water.

Dice a half of onion and 2 ribs of celery

Read here for stalk vs rib controversy.

 (sometimes I add 2 diced carrots also).

Melt 1/2 stick of butter and add vegs to the butter and stir around

 until the onions are transparent.

Then add 4 tbs of flour to make your roux.

A funny word pronounced roo that has nothing to do with Winnie the Pooh.

Add 2 1/2 cups of half and half and the 1 cup of reserved water.  

Stir until heated through.

Now go get those taters and throw them in there.

 Cook over low until heated through.

Add at least 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

Throw in a few handfuls of bacon bits or fried bacon if you're not lazy.

Chop up a few green onions to throw in.  
creepy hand photo

Wow, that's a lot of onions.  

I will admit, sometimes I do not add all of this junk stuff.

Sometimes it's just me and the taters floating around in that cream.

 This does not mean I get in there with them.

We like to crumble homemade cornbread in our soup because that is the way my husband's Grandmother did it and we feel we must carry on the tradition.

Oh, don't forget to top with some more cheese, because no one ever said,

"STOP!....That's waaay too much cheese!"

Printable Potato Soup recipe here

I'm linking up with Joyful Homemaking for Think Tank Thursday.