Yummy Potato Soup

There is something about potato soup that is instantly comforting, the rich thick texture, the soft chunks of potatoes, the delicious flavor... All of it together makes me want to take a nap.
If you want something to warm you up on a super cold afternoon/evening then you have come to the right recipe!
I've adapted this recipe from 4 potato soup recipes, kept what I wanted, threw what I didn't. All potato soup recipes are pretty similar, some have ham or bacon, cheese or no, different types of potatoes and spices, milk or cream. You can really mix and match any recipes you find, most veggies are interchangeable (aside from the potatoes of course) and you can always add what you want instead of what I have on here. Peas, beans, additional carrots, squash cubes, broccoli, cauliflower...  Just remember that stronger tasting veggies will change the taste a bit. It will still be good I'm sure, just different. I don't like to add cheese to my soups unless I have to (such as broccoli cheese soup) because I think it changes the texture when it's reheated and gets grainy when you freeze it. If you want cheese in your potato soup I suggest that you add it to your individual servings. Then everyone can adjust the amount of cheese they want and you don't have to compromise on the texture of leftovers. I like to use ham and bacon, but if you prefer to use only bacon or ham you can without flavor loss.
I can't claim that this soup is healthy, but it's not as unhealthy as some other versions I've seen that add the bacon grease and heavy cream.
So you'll want about 13-14 medium sized potatoes (or like 9-10 large potatoes), I like to use Yukon golds for this because I love their flavor but you can use regular potatoes as well. You probably want to stay away from baby reds because they have a very distinct flavor and are pretty small. You can also cut your recipe in half and make a smaller batch. I know it seems like a ton of potatoes but I use them as the "soup" as well as chunks of potatoes in the soup.
I use yellow onions in my soup because our grocery store has them in abundance and they don't have a crazy strong flavor. You probably don't want to use red, but white onion or vidalia should be fine as well as yellow.
If you don't want to use an emersion blender or don't have one, you can mash the potatoes with a hand masher or electric mixer after you drain the water and before you add broth. If you need a little liquid, add a small amount of the broth until the potatoes are smooth and creamy, then add the rest of the broth and stir well.  To mash the carrots and onion, instead of pouring the carrot/onion mix straight into the potatoes you'll want to pour it into a bowl and tightly seal it up with some foil for like 10 minutes. peel the foil off (be careful with the steam!), then using your potato masher you should be able to smash it all up until it's relatively smooth. You don't need freakishly smooth, but you don't want any chunks. Then throw that into your potato mix and stir it up really well.

On to the soup!!

What you'll need

• 13-14 Medium sized potatoes or 10-11 large potatoes, peeled
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• Milk (you'll need anywhere between 1-3 cups don't worry about exact measurements of this)
• 1 large onion
• 4-6 carrots peeled
• 1 pkg of frozen corn or 1 can of corn drained
• 4 T (1/2 a stick) of butter
• 6 strips of bacon
• 5 slices of deli honey ham (like lunchmeat ham, it doesn't have to be honey)
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Soul Food Seasoning (you can find this at Family Dollar stores and many grocery stores)

 

1. Take all but 3 of your peeled potatoes and roughly cut them into chunks, place them in a large pan (the one you'll use to make the soup in) or a dutch oven, cover them with water, and boil until soft. You'll want them a bit softer then fork tender because we are going to mash them up.
2. Drain the water, add your chicken broth and cook them on low.
3. Using another pan, melt your butter, thinly slice your peeled carrots and onion, add to butter, and cook on medium/low with the lid on until the carrots are easily mashed with a spoon. Stir occasionally.
4. Once the carrot/onion mix is soft add the entire pan (butter drippings and all) to your potatoes.
5. Using an emersion blender, blend the entire mixture until smooth and creamy.
6. Add 2 Tablespoons each Garlic powder, Onion powder, and Soul food seasoning, mix it all up and taste. Adjust the seasonings if needed. The more Soul Food seasoning you use the more spiced up it will be.
7. Put the lid on and set the entire pan aside, removed from the heat.
8. Take your remaining potatoes and cut them up into bite sized pieces, throw those into a sauce pan, cover with water, and boil on high heat until tender.
9. In the mean time, using the same pan you cooked the carrots in, add your bacon and cook it until done. (I prefer mine not crispy but cook it to the doneness that you like)
10. Scoop out the bacon with a fork or slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside. Cut up the ham into small pieces and throw this in the same pan (grease and all) you cooked the bacon in. Cook until just crisp.
11. While it's cooking, cut up or crumble the bacon and place it back on the paper towel lined plate.
12. Once the ham is done scoop it out with a slotted spoon and place it on the plate with the bacon.
13. At this point your potatoes should be done, so you'll want to drain the water out of that pan and pour your potatoes into your mashed potato mixture. Add your bacon/ham as well. Stir it all up.
14. If it's frozen, throw your corn in the microwave until hot and add to your soup, if it's in a can, drain it and throw it in your soup without heating.  
15. Add your milk. Start with 1 cup and increase from there at 1/2 cup intervals until you get the consistency you like. You don't really have to measure this though, just pour and stir until you get the consistency you want. I like mine to be thick enough to cling to a spoon but some people like it thinner then that. If you want everything to be super hot, place your pan back on the stove and heat through on medium/high heat.
16. Serve and enjoy!

If you want to add cheese go on and add it to the individual servings. Shredded cheddar goes really nicely with this. If you really want to add cheese to the pan, bring your soup to a simmer and turn the heat off, then add your cheese, and stir until melted.

I know it sounds like a lot of work and pans but in reality you're only using 3 pans. It isn't that much work either, I probably spend about 30 minutes prepping for this and most of that is peeling potatoes. I spend about an hour and a half cooking. I do my dishes while things are cooking (such as the carrots or ham because they require very little attention) so in the end my kitchen is super clean and we have a super yummy pot of soup!

 

As always,

Enjoy!