Recipes are a bit of a challenge to write up, because I typically don’t adhere to recipes stringently and, often, I don’t measure things. I included a lot of suggestions in the potato and green chile soup recipe, because it is easy to tailor this one to individual tastes.
Loaded Potato & Green Chile soup
Ingredients | 4 servings
- 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
- ¼ cup of finely diced celery. Use less if you don’t like celery OR substitute 1/8 teaspoon of celery seed)
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 1/3 cup cooked, crumbled bacon OR cubed ham
- 1/3 cup chopped, roasted green chile OR 1-2 tablespoons of powdered green chile. Adjust the chile to taste. Use a heat level of chile that you know you enjoy.
- 1 ¾ cup water. You may need to add a bit more water (or chicken broth) to get the consistency that you like.
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules. A can of chicken broth will work as a substitute for the water/bouillon. You could also substitute vegetable broth if you are vegetarian and skipped the ham/bacon component.
- ¼ teaspoon salt (less if you are cutting sodium)
- ¼ teaspoon ground white OR black pepper (less if you aren’t a pepper fan)
- 2 ½ tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk OR almond milk
- Optional: ¼ cup shredded cheese to put on top of the soup as a garnish prior to serving. I prefer a sharp cheddar.
Directions
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham or bacon, green chile, and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.
If you opt to use broth instead of bouillon, then you will boil/heat the ingredients in the broth instead of water/bouillon combo.
Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a separate saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Slowly whisk in milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Stir over medium-low heat until it thickens. Approximately 4-5 minutes.
Add the milk mixture to the stockpot and cook until it is thoroughly heated. I cook it at a lower heat for longer to get the potatoes to break down a little, because I like a creamier texture. For people who prefer broth soups, cook until everything is well combined and the potatoes are tender.
Top with cheese if you want. Serve immediately.
Please leave your recipe modifications in the comments. I am a big fan of using a recipe as a baseline, modifying as I go.
