Potato Cheese Soup

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 large sweet onion, diced finely
• 2 sticks celery & leaves, chopped finely
• 1 -2 carrot, diced finely
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups chicken broth (or 2 boxes)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon of fresh, if you have it)
• 2 teaspoons mccormick's montreal brand steak seasoning (or your favorite blend)
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes (or 1/4 cup fresh, if you have it)
• 5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, cubed ("idaho", not yukon gold etc, wrong texture)
• 16 ounces cream cheese (2 pkgs. chunked, room temperature -i used to use milk this is way better!)
• 2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (also a recent addition, highly recommended)

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot (or dutch oven) over medium heat, sauté onions, celery, and carrots in a bit of oil or butter until translucent. add the garlic at the end, for just a minute, so that it doesn’t scorch.
• 2 add the broth and stir in the seasonings.
• 3 drop in the peeled chunks of potatoes. reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, when pierced with a knife (about 20 minutes).
• 4 use a potato masher to carefully pulverize to a thick consistency – or, if you like it totally smooth, put small batches of it through a blender (seems like overkill for this rustic/casual of a dish, if you ask me, but, hey – knock yourself out!).
• 5 add the cream cheese in chunks, and stir until melted (patience - don't break the cheese - just go fold a couple loads of laundry, put the dishes away, vacuum, and read a story-book with your kid, then come back to it - it will be perfect). taste for seasoning (esp. salt). serve hot, garnished with some grated extra-sharp cheddar, and some crusty extra sour dough bread - toasted then rubbed with a clove of garlic - and a slice of humble pie for desert.
• 6 freezes well.