It’s warm here today, but it’s always good to have a soup recipe on hand for when the cold weather returns. And there’s nothing better on a cold night than Creamy Potato Cheese Soup. I rarely peel potatoes, I scrub the skins thoroughly and that’s good enough for me. It also saves a lot of time and potato skins are full of good things. Yes, there is cheese, but milk instead of cream, and you can even use non-fat milk without noticing any loss. I threw the Pear and Sour Cherry Crisp in at the last minute, because to me, fall is all about fruit crisps.
On the board tonight:
- Cream of Potato Cheese Soup
- Orange-Walnut Spinach Salad
- Pear and Sour Cherry Crisp
Cream of Potato Cheese Soup
- 6 large potatoes, cubed (peeling opt)
- 2 cups water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- ½ tsp ea: sage, rosemary, basil
- 4 cups milk
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 4 tbsp flour
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt & pepper to taste
Lg. saucepan (2 to 4 qt)
In saucepan or Dutch oven, cover potatoes with water and boil until fork tender, drain all but 2 cups water. Add onions, garlic and spices to potatoes*. In a bowl mix together milk, flour, salt & pepper. Mix well, no lumps, add melted butter. Add to potatoes and mix well. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly, add cheese, reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
*A great trick is to remove about ½ cup of the cooked potatoes and mash, then add back into soup, this gives you an extra creamy texture.
Orange-Walnut Spinach Salad
- 10 oz spinach, washed
- 2 oranges, peeled, remove white skin & cut into chunks (you can substitute equivalent canned mandarin orange slices)
- ½ red onion, sliced in rings
- 1 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Raspberry-walnut dressing
large salad bowl
Tear spinach leaves. Layer in a large salad bowl. Top with orange chunks, onion, sprinkle blue cheese and walnuts. Add dressing & toss before serving.
Pears & Sour Cherry Crisp
Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter until mixture is crumbly
Filling:
- 4 large fresh pears, cored, peeled and sliced
- 1 ½ cups frozen pitted cherries, thawed
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup sugar
8×8 baking dish, greased
Combine pears, cherries, sugar, & cornstarch. Spread in baking dish. Top fruit mixture with flour topping. Bake at 375° for 25 to 34 minutes, topping should be golden & pears tender.
Shopping List:
- 6 large potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 red onion
- 4 cups milk
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 10 oz spinach
- 2 oranges
- 1 oz bleu cheese,
- 4 oz chopped walnuts
- Raspberry-walnut dressing
- 1 stick + 3 tbsp butter
- 4 large fresh pears
- 12 oz frozen pitted cherries
Also: cornstarch, sugar, brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, sage, rosemary, basil, garlic
[...] it’s always good to have a soup recipe on hand for when the cold weather returns. And there’s nothing better on a cold night than Creamy Potato Cheese Soup. [...]
My potato soup recipe is similar, except instead of water, I boil my potatoes in chicken broth. It gives a wonderful background flavor to the soup.
Yum. That sounds good. I often add garlic to the water because as we all know, you can’t have enough garlic.
[...] of how to do something different with them. Thankfully a post on the Balloon Juice blog suggested this recipe, which I tried with happy gusto. The only major change was using soy milk. Possibly related posts: [...]
[...] found by E, courtesy of here. I am such a sucker for anything with rosemary in it (and cheese [...]