Potato Soup!

This is my first Autumn in Indiana. I love Autumn, the cool weather, the beautiful colors, sweatshirts, bonfires, etc...

It's also my favorite cooking season. When I think of Autumn and food, I'm reminded of pumpkin, hazelnut, cinnamon. I think of hearty soups, warm cups of tea, coffee, cocoa, and (my personal favorite) cider. No more quick meals to keep the kitchen from getting to hot, no more grilling (I love, love, LOVE grilled food, but I can only do it in spurts. Grill prep and clean up is such a pain.), no more cold foods. It's time for two seasons of delicious comfort food.

When Autumn comes in Indiana, it certainly isn't a subtle change. I went to bed with my air conditioner blowing and I woke up freezing with a dire need to light the pilot light on the boiler to get the heat going. It's been in the 50's and 60's for a week now. I love it!

So last week, for my first act of fall cooking, I decided I was making potato soup. It was simply amazing. Of course it was to delicious to not have to share it with all of you, so without further jabbering, I give you Potato Soup.

Ingredients

3 Lbs Red Potatoes
1/2 Lg Onion
4 cloves garlic
5 Chicken Bouillon cubes
1 Ham bone (some leftover ham attached is a plus)
About 24 oz ham (if it's not already attached to the bone)
1 C shredded cheddar
Water
Salt & Pepper to taste
Your favorite toppings (we did bacon and more cheddar)

Directions

Very simple instructions. Cube the potatoes, slice the 1/2 onion, and mince the garlic. Put the ham bone in the crock pot, toss the potatoes, onion, and garlic (and ham if it's not attached to the bone) over top. Season with salt and pepper. Fill with water and add the bouillon. Cook on low for 8 hours. Around your 6 hour mark, pull out your ham bone and shred your ham if its attached and add it back to the pot. Ladle out half the soup and puree it in your blender. Mix in 2 Tbs flour with 1/2 C COLD water and when there are no lumps pour it into your puree. Toss it back into the pot, stir, and finish cooking.

Here is why I think it tastes different. I used a leftover ham bone from a 10lb Sugardale ham I made a few weeks ago and then froze the bone. There was ham, fat, and skin attached. When I shredded the ham I took the skin and the fat and pureed it with the rest of the soup. It added a ton of flavor. The garlic was also a nice hint, I don't see many potato soups with garlic. Most potato soups have a white color speckled with pepper. I didn't overload it with pepper and the potato skins and ham puree made it a nice cream color.

Be careful with adding salt, especially if you puree cooked ham skin and fat. It can make it pretty salty.


Top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!