Mom's Potato Soup

We're only 4 days away from Halloween and the end of October, and it's finally starting to cool off outside. Not to say that it's been hot here, but the mild weather has definitely confused everything - including my crepe myrtle bushes in front of the house. They never decided if they wanted to bloom or not (usually they explode in a profusion of fuschia in early September), and now they can't decide if they want to go dormant. All of this is throwing off my winter garden prep schedule!

I'm too busy these days to deal with yard work anyway. Or cooking. Or dusting, vacuuming, mopping, or the eight million other chores that need to be done around the house. I really need that T-shirt that says, "I can't, I have rehearsal"! In addition to my normal round of church rehearsals and services, I have rehearsals for my current production, which goes up in December, a showcase performance for said production, a weekend of CD recording sessions, 3-4 auditions, a couple of concert performances as a featured soloist, a 5K, hosting Thanksgiving...and I know I'm forgetting a few things. That gets me through mid-December. Some days, I think it would be nice to be married, just to have someone else to help me with life's necessities. Like laundry. Or medicating the cat. Or winterizing the house.

One of the best things about the weather starting to turn cooler is that I can break out the soup section of my cookbook! One of my favorite go-to cold weather recipes is my mom's potato soup. She made up the recipe when I was a teenager, and it quickly became a family favorite (for once, a meal that we could all agree on!). I even made it in bulk in college when cooking for my starving friends.

I have no idea what the caloric content is for this soup, but it's not for acolytes of the carb-free craze. This is comfort food at it's finest, and it's one of my favorite things to make when I'm snowed in or just feel like I need to be warmed from the inside out! Even better - it's pretty easy to make!

Mom's Potato Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 6 large baking potatoes
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 stick margarine or butter
• 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp instant onions
• 4 c milk
• Pepper
• 1 ham slice (about 1 lb)

Directions

1. Peel and quarter potatoes and place in a large dutch oven. Cover with water. Add celery. Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool.


2. In the same dutch oven, melt butter. Add flour, salt, onions, milk, and a couple of dashes of pepper. Over medium high heat, whisk until smooth. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Lower heat to low or warm.


3. Cube cooked potatoes and ham slice. Add potatoes, celery, and ham to the dutch oven and stir until thoroughly heated.


4. Remove from heat and serve!

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