Cheddar Potato Soup

On Wednesday I tried a new soup recipe out of Cooking Light's Low-Fat Low-Calorie Quick and Easy Cookbook. Although the title of the book sounds decidedly modern and unromantic, their recipe for Cheddar Potato Soup is a delightful representation of all things creamy and delicious. There was very little of the soup left at the White Elephant gift party we attended on Wednesday, even with a doubled recipe. This is a simple recipe that is perfect for winter.


Ingredients: (which I've altered to make more "fattening," since I abhor the low-fat craze)

32 oz. chicken broth

5 cups shredded potato (I substituted frozen french fries, which I cubed)

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 TBSP all-purpose flour

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped green onion (for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven: bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

2. Combine flour and milk in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Add to potato mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened.

3. Pour half of potato mixture into container of an electric blender; cover and process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. [NOTE: the next step is to blend the other half of the potato mixture; however, I chose to leave some of the potato chunks in the soup for some texture -- which is why I chose cubed french fries instead of shredded potato. If you want potato chunks, just add the blended mixture back into your pot. If you want creamy soup, repeat the procedure with remaining half of potato mixture.]

4. Return mixture to Dutch oven. Add cheese; cook over medium heat, stirring unti lcheese melts. Ladle soup into individual bowls; sprinkle each serving evenly with green onion.

Yield: 7 (1 cup) servings.

Enjoy!