Perfect Potato Soup

Soup is SUCH a cold weather essential... warms you from the inside out! Cream based soups used to frustrate me because of the "add flour" to thicken ... and I always had clumps of flour no matter what I did. This recipe I used Instant Potatoes instead of flour and it was a HUGE success!!!

Ingredients:  (yields 8-10 servings) 

• ‎6-10 med/small white potatoes (cubed & boiled w or w/out skins)
• 1 cup chopped carrots (boiled w potatoes)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 T butter
• 2 C Precooked Spiral Cut Ham (cut into cubes)
• 1 C heavy cream
• 1 can Evap milk (Fat free works great as well!)
• 2 C water
• 1 chicken boulion cube
• 1 can corn
• 1 can cream of chicken (reduced fat tastes just fine!)
• salt, pepper & celery salt to taste
• abt 2/3 C Instant potatoes (Add 1/3 C at a time till the consistency you would like)

Cooking Instructions:

Boil potatoes & carrots till tender then drain and set aside 
Return stockpot to stove & saute onions w/ butter inside of stockpot
once onions are ready add in water, chicken boulion cube and cream of chicken then bring to a boil. 
Add in corn & Ham and continue to boil for a few min add in potatoes & carrots & continue to boil for a few more min. 
Reduce heat to a simmer add in cream and milk. 
Season w salt, pepper (abt 1 Tbs) & celery salt (abt 2 tsp) to taste 
Use a potato masher to break up potatoes, carrots and corn a little (about 6 times) but not into mush!
Finally add in Instant potatoes 1/3 C at a time to thicken the soup up!

Enjoy!

Dani W