Cream of Potato-Celery Soup

I didn't expect this soup to turn out to be so wonderful. My low expectations were partly due to how non-perfect the tomato soup turned out and partly due to the fact that I only recently discovered how awesome potato soup is. If these recipes continue to make delcious foods, I am going to be making everything from scratch instead of buying premade foods.

This soup is not for people who don't like celery (or are allergic to it!). The celery definitely provides a distinct flavor. I'm not sure how much the chicken bouillon alters the flavor, so if you are a vegetarian you can possibly just leave it out. Or, if you don't want to use the bouillon cube for other reasons, you can substitute one of the two cups of water with chicken broth.

Two medium sized potatoes were enough to get the two cups of cubed potato pieces. The celery leaves can be found on the inside of a bundle of celery stalks or on top if they aren't removed before the store obtains them. I really don't know if those add flavor, so you can possibly leave them out and add a bit more celery if you are silly and buy precut celery.

Cream of Potato-Celery Soup (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
2 C peeled, raw, cubed potatoes
1 C thinly sliced celery
2 T chopped celery leaves
2 T minced onion
2 C water
1/2 t salt
1 C scalded milk
1 T margarine/butter
2 T flour
1/4 C cold milk
1 chicken bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

Chop up the potatoes, slice the celery, chop the leaves, and mince the onion. Throw all of this into a nice sized pot with the water and salt.

Bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Place a cover on the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer for 25ish minutes.

After this pot contents boil for the 25ish minutes, start to scald the milk. While the milk was scalding, I smashed a lot of the potatoes against the inside of the pot with a wooden spoon. I didn't want the soup to be very chunky! You can do this or not. You are the one who will be eating it.

Pour the scalded milk into the pot with the potatoes. Add the butter or margine as well. Mix this all up.

Meanwhile, add the flour to the cold milk. Stir well. If the flour leaves some lumps in the milk, you may end up with mini dumpling type things in your soup. Pour this thickened milk into the pot of potato soup. Stir in well and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. This will thicken the soup. Add the salt, pepper, and bouillon cube at this point.

Serve the soup while hot. Eat with a spoon. Or drink with a thick straw. I guess you can also pour some into a mug and just drink it that way. I won't restrict your soup eating options.

I made a double batch of this soup. Two days later, it heats up and is still very yummy.

Enjoy!

Refrigerated Potato Dinner Rolls

As everyone knows, the best way to eat a potato is raw. Fortunately, potatoes are also incredibly useful when it comes to cooking. You can boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... the possibilities are probably limited. This recipe is going to do the first two and then stick them in to bread dough. Potato rolls are absolutely delicious.

I currently think my favorite part of making bread is the smell of the yeast and the dough puffing up.

Refrigerated Potato Dinner Rolls (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
1 C lukewarm mashed potatoes
1/2 C shortening
4 T sugar
3/4 C milk
1 packet dry active yeast (or one cake)
1/4 C warm water
2 eggs
5 C flour
1 1/2 t salt
butter

First, the mashed potatoes need to be made. You can be lazy and use instant mashed potatoes, but then you can't eat any of the raw potato during the preparation. Three potatoes should be enough for 1 cup of mashed. Peel them, cut them into cubes, and boil until soft. Don't forget to add salt to the water.

Mash the potatoes and measure out one cup. Set the remaining mashed potatoes aside or eat them. Up to you.

In the mixer, place 1 cup of mashed potatoes, shortening, sugar, and milk. Mix well.

Soften the yeast in the warm water. Beat the eggs.

Once the yeast is soft, add the eggs and yeast to the potato mixture. Add 4 cups of flour. Mix until combined.

Attach the dough hook to the mixer and knead the dough for 5 minutes. If you are lacking the nifty and expensive style of mixer, knead the dough with your hands. During the kneading process, slowly add flour until the dough loses most of its stickiness. I only had to add a few more tablespoons.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and spread a thick layer of butter on top of the dough. Cover the dough with wax paper.

Place a towel over the bowl and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. This dough can stay in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Two hours before dinner, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out on a well floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a biscuit cutter or large cookie cutter. Butter the tops of the rolls. Optionally fold in half and butter the top again. Most of mine unfolded during baking.

Cover and let rise for one hour before baking (or until dough is doubled. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

I think I will reduce the heat to 375 next time I make these. The bottom of the rolls started to burn and the tops were not browned at all! So check these after about 12 minutes or they may burn.

Cheesy Potatoes

Cheesy Potatoes: potato chunks covered by a creamy cheese sauce and baked until bubbly. This is another common food that was found at most family get-togethers. I can't honestly say that I've tried the potatoes before now; if I eat a potato, I prefer it be raw. I'm just a picky eater. These potatoes are cheesy, gooey, and delicious. Most people love these potatoes and often ask for the recipe (if they don't already have it!). The cheesy potatoes are a great addition to a cook-out or a wonderful side dish for meatloaf. They are simple to make and easy to serve.

This makes a large amount of food, so unless you are planning to feed many people, you should use two casserole dishes (8in x 8in or similar size). One dish will be enough for 4 people, maybe more if you have another side dish. The extra dish of cheesy potatoes can be frozen once they are securely covered with freezer paper. Just be sure to write the contents and date made on it!

Cheesy Potatoes (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
3 cans Cream of Potato Soup
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
32 oz Frozen "Home Fries" Potatoes
8 T butter (1 stick)
8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded)

Coat the inside of the casserole dishes with a a thin covering of olive oil (or cooking spray).

Place the cubed potatoes in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the cream of potato soup and the cream of chicken soup until well blended. Add the soup mixture to the potatoes and mix until well the soup evenly covers the potatoes.

Add half of the cheese to the potato mixture (approximately 1 cup of cheese). Mix until well blended.

Divide the potato mixture between the two casserole dishes.

Evenly cut the butter into thin slices. Evenly distribute the butter slices on top of the potato mixture in the casserole dishes.

Cover the potato mixture with the remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 for one hour. Allow the cheesy potatoes to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts: I'll figure these out when I decide on a decent size per serving!

When making the cheesy potatoes for this post, I only had 2 cans of cream of potato soup. The store didn't have any more and I didn't feel like driving around to find one can of soup. I substituted the missing can of cream of potato soup with a can of cream of chicken soup.
The frozen potatoes can easily be replaced with cubed potatoes if you want to take the time to cube them!
The cheddar cheese can be either mild or sharp, depending on your personal preference.