Frugal Food: Potato Soup

Home economics

Potato Soup

We usually have this soup at least once a week. This recipe makes a very large pot. I purposely make way too much for two people because we both love the soup so much, we usually each eat two bowls for dinner and take leftovers for lunch the next day. Sometimes I make biscuits on the side or just buttered toast.

P.S. For a great way to stretch your butter budget (do people have butter budgets?) check out this link to a post at Choosing Voluntary Simplicity.

So here’s my recipe.

Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Potato Soup.

Ingredients

1 large diced onion
2 tablespoons of chopped Garlic
2 Cups of chicken broth (I make mine from water and a chicken bouillon cube)
6-8 medium russet potatoes (you can add more or less to your taste), peeled and diced
2 Cups of frozen broccoli
8 oz of Velveeta cheese, cut into 1 inch squares
2 Cups of Milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Pour 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive oil in a large pot, sauté onions and garlic in the bottom of the pot until translucent while you prepare the potatoes. Pour in the 2 cups of chicken broth. Add potatoes, frozen broccoli and Velveeta Cheese. At this point you may need to add a bit of water until the ingredients are all well covered in liquid. Boil soup, stirring frequently until the potatoes are soft. Add the milk and butter and boil for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. I always add the milk at the very end to prevent scalding. Serve with the shredded cheddar cheese as a garnish on top.

Note: This is a very basic recipe; I make the soup differently every time according to what’s in my fridge. You can add all kinds of leftovers in, bacon bits, a cup of sour cream, leftover corn etc.. Last night I had a small amount of nacho cheese dip left in the jar that I added to the soup. It added some spice and some extra cheese taste that was great! You may want to add more or less liquid depending on how thick and creamy you want it.