Baked Potato Soup (Another Re-Post)

Here is the recipe for the soup I made last night. It is adapted only slightly from the Ivory Favorites cookbook (a fabulous cookbook available through Make-A-Wish foundation). It’s simple, easy to make, and oh-so-very-comforting to eat. After the crazy day I had at work yesterday, this soup made me feel like a new woman.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tablespoons flour
14.5 oz chicken broth (or enough to barely cover the potatoes- I usually end up using about 20 oz. or more. Oh, and pacific organic chicken broth is sold at Costco for a steal of a deal).
4 medium-sized baking potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes (I only use 2 of the huge mutant Costco ones)
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 cup half and half

Optional garnishes:
Green onions or chives
Cheddar cheese
Bacon bits

1) Melt butter over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan
2) Add onion and saute for 1-2 minutes
3) Sprinkle flour over onions and saute for 5 minutes
4) Pour chicken broth in and stir (I usually add a cup or so at this point just to “deglaze” the pan and wait until I add the potatoes to pour in the rest).
5) Add potatoes and spices
6) Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer on low for 20-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The recipe says to cook the mixture for 20 minutes, but I’ve found that I like to let the potatoes cook until they are practically falling apart and their starchiness has thickened the broth up quite a bit. I usually take a potato masher and smash a few of them up in the pot when they’ve finished cooking to make the soup even more thick. So, if you’d like the soup to be more of a liquid base with distinct potato chunks, cook it for the 20 minutes. Otherwise, let it cook longer).
7) Stir in half and half. Heat through.
8) Garnish with what is listed above, or any other baked potato toppings you like.

I like to serve this with a simple green salad and some crusty bread or rolls (if you can handle the starch overload that is).