Soup!

I don't have a photo for this one, which is a shame because it was amazing. But even if I did, you wouldn't be able to smell it so it's a moot point.

Until now, I've always done grocery shopping in a very planned and methodical way. I'd figure out what I wanted to eat for the week, and then I'd buy exactly those components I needed. Generally, I didn't have anything left over, which was ok because chances were it wouldn't get used.

This philosophy does not work with potatoes. They come in 5 lb bags, and who in their right mind is going to use 5 pounds of potatoes in one meal? Or even in a week? That's a lot of potatoes.

I had a few left over and it was cold last night, and I wanted soup. I really love potato soup. It's one of my favorite soups, but I've never made it. I started looking up recipes, and mostly I found potato leek soup. I'm sure it's incredible, but I didn't have any leeks. I had scallions though. And cheese. And garlic.

Ingredients
2-3 potatoes thinly sliced (not baking potatoes and not new potatoes. The ones that fall in the middle of those)
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp butter
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 - 3/4c shredded cheddar cheese
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
2/3c heavy cream, half and half, or something lighter (I used heavy cream because I had some lying around)
3c of some combination of water and low sodium chicken broth. I used 2 1/3 c water, and 2/3c chicken broth. More broth means less salt later, so adjust accordingly.

Over very low heat, melt the butter and saute the garlic until it just starts to brown. Add the chicken broth, water, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender. Joy of Cooking says this should be about 30 minutes, but mine were ready to go after 15.

Puree the soup in a blender. Do not over blend, or you will have glue. If you want a chunkier soup, you could probably hand mash the potatoes here. Return soup to a low heat. Add scallions, cheese, and cream. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Advanced: Fry up some bacon and garnish with bacon chunks.