Miracle Potato Soup

By Texan Bride

*Please note: this product has not been tested by the FDA, results may vary* :-)

Texan Husband had some pretty wacked-out food requests for the days he was sick - not that I'm criticizing or anything...I always crave KFC fried chicken and mashed potatoes when I'm sick (a meal that I would never dream of consuming when I was well). Texan Husband's requests varied from tater tots to grilled cheese to a turkey burger with sweet potato fries.

His most normal (and probably good for him) request was for potato soup. I'm not an experienced cook, ya'll, let's just get that out in the open RIGHT now! Texan Husband has suffered in silence through several of my little messes that I tried to pass off as dinner - God bless him! The poor man was feeling so bad that even though I'd never attempted potato soup before I was determined that I was gosh-darn going to give it my best shot!

And you know what? It wasn't half bad! So I'm sharing it with you today - but please note I'm not a measurer when I cook, I tend to eyeball things and add ingredients on a whim.

Miracle Potato Soup

3 cups of potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

2 cups or so of chicken stock (I cheat and buy the pre-made kind that comes in a carton)

¼ cup chopped onion (I used some frozen chopped shallots...)

1 can of cream of celery soup (I prefer cream of mushroom, but Texan Husband is anti-fungus)

1 can cream-style corn

1 can mexicorn (or a bag of frozen corn, whatever you have on hand is good)

2 cups of ½ and ½  - I used the fat-free kind because that's all I had in the fridge, but feel free to go crazy with this!

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 good-sized hunks of velveeta (I think it was about 1/3 of a cup?)

Shredded cheddar cheese (load it up, baby!)

Black pepper, to taste

Garlic salt, to taste

First, sautee the onion in a big skillet until it is brown and tender. Add the chicken stock, bring it to a boil, and drop in the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender, then drain off about 1 cup of the stock (eyeball it). Reduce the heat to simmer, and add the can of cream of celery soup, cream-style corn, mexicorn, and about ½ of the bacon. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then slowly drizzle in the ½ and ½ and also toss in the velveeta. (This is not health food, people). Stir constantly so it doesn't burn, and let the soup get nice and creamy. If it still looks too thick, add some of the chicken stock you drained off back into the pan. Grind in some black pepper (I tend to be a little heavy-handed with this) and add a little garlic salt if you think it needs more flavor.

Pour into bowls, and garnish with the shredded cheddar cheese, and the rest of the crumbled bacon.

Enjoy! (And watch your sick spouse feel better instantly!)