no fuss potato soup

I made a very simple potato soup recipe last week.  It was one of those days when I planned to have something else for dinner, but I forgot to thaw the chicken.  Ho Hum.  I acted as if I totally knew what I was doing...haha!  I didn't follow a recipe at all.  I just made it up as I went.

~ I used ~

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large carton of chicken broth

1 1/2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/2  medium onion, chopped

2 TBS garlic, minced

olive oil 

milk as desired for consistency

4 oz cream cheese cubed

salt and pepper to taste

I started by peeling, cubing and then boiling potatoes in a carton of low sodium chicken broth.

While the boiling was happening -- on the next burner over I sauteed garlic...

{We need a new skillet...huh?  Ahem...Santa maybe?}

...celery and onions in a tad bit of olive oil.  

Is there a better smell in the entire universe than the smell of garlic, onions and celery on the stove top?  Seriously...not to sound corny, not that I was adding corn or anything, but IT MAKES MY DAY to smell good stuff cooking in my kitchen.  Ok, enough corny-ness.  

The cold medicine I'm taking has seriously made me crazy-er than normal.

I let the potatoes boil until they got soft and then I mashed them up with a potato masher, I added the celery, onions and garlic to the mix.  I added milk as needed to make it soupy and then put about 4 oz of cream cheese into the hot soup pot.  I added salt and pepper too.

Then I let it simmer for 20 minutes or so.  I had to add a bit more broth so I didn't end up with mashed potatoes.  And that is it.  

Potato soup a la ... fly by the seat of your pants.

The kids ate soup with those fun bread sticks you can get in a box near the salad dressing aisle.  

We also had celery, carrots and ranch dip & salads for the adults.

I made these for dessert.  They were WAY too sweet for me, but the kids really loved them!

They are fruit-loop treats!  

Made with fruit loops instead of rice crispy cereal. 

How fun would these be right now with green and red cereal?  So festive and Christmasy.  I know that isn't a word, but I have been using it lately.

Have a great Tuesday!