Cheese Potato Soup

Still hoping for some winter weather out here in California but already thinking about a brisk evening combined with a pot of hot, tasty soup. This is an easy recipe and can make four generous servings or smaller bowls for six. And, as you will note, completely gluten-free but no ‘weird’ gluten-free ingredients which makes it friendly to every diet!

Cheese Potato Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded cheese (Swiss or Cheddar!)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 cup bacon, fried crisp and crumbled for topping soup
Chopped chives or green onions

Melt the butter in a large cooking pot. Add the onion and saute until onion is softened and just starting to brown. Stir in the prepared mashed potatoes. Add the milk, stirring well to blend. Add the cheese of choice and the salt, pepper, granulated onion and granulated garlic. Keep on a low heat and stir until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through. Serve each portion with a sprinkling of bacon and the chives or green onions.

No Recipe Yet There is Soup!

My favorite meals evolve out of what I find in the refrigerator and freezer. My aim in life is to avoid trips to the grocery because I always come home with more than i went to purchase. My husband’s only problem with this kind of cooking is that I can never replicate any particularly good meals . . . ever, again!

This evening, I had too many vegetables that needed using along with a small chunk of soup meat. The vegetable drawer in the refrigerator now has more room, the little bit of meat found a home, and a pot of bubbling soup is cooking on the stove. Did I make pasta or rice to go with it? Nope! I had leftover Spanish rice from yesterday’s meal to use for that.

The nice think about soup is that you can’t really make a mistake. You just add things that sound good until it smells good, and a spoonful to test is tasty. Kind of like the first time one jumps off the high dive. You don’t think it will work but then you find yourself doing it over and over again as it is fun . . . and a great way to provide a budget meal that doesn’t taste like one.