Recipe: Quick Cheesy Potato Soup

It’s spring break! At least, for me it is. My brother and sister both had last week off. I plan to sleep, cook, and sleep some more. Seriously, this internship has got me so sleep deprived that I really need to play catch up. I will be glad to have a job soon that has a normal working schedule. Only 11 weeks left!  I’m going camping this week for a couple days. I’m in charge of organizing the food. Guess who’s going to be eating healthy while camping? That’s what happens when you put a RD (to be) in charge of food! I’ll make a post about what I decide to bring with us on our trip.

 

Lately, I’ve been cooking for my boyfriend on the weekend in exchange for him helping me with my resume and cover letters for job applications.  I think this exchange works out pretty well, I get help with something I’m not the best at AND I get to cook! Last week I made him my Quick Cheesy Potato Soup, something that’s been requested several times.

 

You will need:

• 6 medium sized potatoes
• 2/3 cup diced celery
• 2 small broccoli crowns
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk

 

I was doubling this recipe, so that’s why it looks like I have an insane amount of potatoes in this picture. So first, peel and chop your potatoes.

 

 

Place in a large pot, cover with water and boil until soft and mushy, about 12 minutes. You can test to see if they’re mushy by piercing with a fork.

 

Meanwhile, wash and chop your celery. Set this aside for now, and chop the broccoli into chunks. Place into a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave until bright green, about 3 minutes. This is done to cook the broccoli for a short period of time so it doesn’t get dark green and mushy. It may feel a little tough when you take it out, but it’ll soften up when you add it to the soup later.

 

 

Drain the potatoes and put them into a large bowl. Mash with a fork.

 

 

Next, add the potatoes, celery and water to a large pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Then, stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

 

 

The fun part is next. A roux is just a fancy word for a butter and flour mixture. It’s used to thicken soups and stews. If you’ve never made a roux before, go slow. If the burner is up too high, it could cause the butter and flour to burn. Whisking quickly is the key.

 

Melt your butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.

 

 

Add the flour one tablespoon at a time, whisking quickly. Sorry about the blurriness, both of my hands were full so the camera was handed off to someone not so familiar to iPhones.

 

Add the milk slowly, whisking. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes, and at the end it should be very thick and gravy-like. For those cooks out there—I know I’m using a solid measuring cup for liquids *GASP*. I was cooking in someone else’s kitchen who is not equipped with such things.

 

Add the flour/butter mixture to the soup. Stir in the broccoli and let it all heat through.

 

Ta-da! You can add a little shredded cheddar if you want. It tastes like a baked potato soup, without having to bake the potatoes first. Perfect for a chilly spring day.

 

 

For those of you concerned with the 5 tablespoons of butter in the recipe, don’t be worried. This recipe makes about 6-8 servings, which means each bowl would have approximately 3/4 a tablespoon of butter—about 75 added calories. The butter really is necessary. I tried to make a water-based potato soup once, and when I added the cheese it hardened up like plastic. Believe me I did not want to make that mistake again. Butter is the way to go.

 

Let me know if you try it! Happy St. Patty’s day!