Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Saturday, January 16, 2010


Soup of the week:

A good way to use up small amounts of veggies that might otherwise wilt and get tossed out is to incorporate them into a basic potato soup recipe as shown below. If you have some broccoli, celery, turnips, etc. these can be switched out for part of the potatoes. You can substitute a little cheese for the butter and add your favorite herbs making a completely different tasting soup. Who says soup has to come out of a can. It can be very economical to make your own from items you might already have. Learning to cook with what is on hand is a very thrifty skill to develop. You don't need to follow recipes exactly .. just learn how to switch things up and you will save time and money in the kitchen.

Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into two inch cubes
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
1-1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups milk
2 T. butter
2 pieces of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled (optional)

Place potatoes and onion in a 6 quart sauce pan. Just barely cover with water, add salt & pepper, and bring to a boil for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Using a hand held potato masher or a stick blender, mash/puree the soup leaving it slightly lumpy. Add the milk and butter. Cook for another five minutes over med-low heat stirring often. Add the bacon if desired.

stove image from here



1 comment:

Cindy said...

I love soup! My kids gave me an immersion blender for Christmas and it works great to create a smooth, creamy soup with a base like potatoes and veggies without adding all the dairy and fat. I do try to keep little veggie leftovers in zip lock baggies in the freezer for recipes like the one you shared.