Soup time!

I've never been a big soup eater, but I've come across some very simple recipes that have turned out really goood... and of course soup goes really good with my homemade bread I bake almost every week... so we've been dining on soup quite a bit! I'll share with you 2 different recipes I've tried...

Zesty Potato Soup

3 cans condensed cream of potato soup

2 cans (12 oz) evaporated milk

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

6 slices ready-to-serve fully cooked bacon, crumbled

In a large saucepan, combine the potato soup and milk. Cook over med. heat for 5-7 minutes or until heated through. Ladle in serving bowls. Sprinkle with cheese & bacon. Yield: 6 servings

This recipe is great - I highly recommend the pepper jack cheese, it adds the flavor & zip the soup needs - I don't even like spicy things, but a little bit of this cheese on top is a necessity I'd say. :) Also, I made this soup a second time (see picture above) and substituted one of the cans of cream of potato for cream of broccoli, added about a cup of cooked broccoli to the soup, and I added a can of diced potatoes. It was great, but I didn't really like the flavor the broccoli soup added. I think I'd definitely add cooked broccoli again, but just use the 3 cans of cream of potato soup. :)

Potato Corn Chowder

1 + 1/2 cups diced cooked ham

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 + 1/2 cups milk

1 can diced potatoes, drained

1 can cream style sweet corn

1. Cook ham, celery and onion in butter in large saucepan until veg's are tender.

2. Add cheese soup, milk, potatoes, and corn. Simmer 5 mins. over low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.

I got a thick slice of ham from the deli at the grocery store, and cut it into bite sized pieces. I didn't use fresh onion, just added a little minced onion to the soup. I also omitted the celery, since we're not big on celery here. Therefore, I skipped step #1 in the directions entirely. :) The soup turned out really good... I did add a little seasoned salt and pepper for flavor... and like with the potato soup, we added some shredded cheese on top after filling our bowls. I wasn't sure I liked the cheddar cheese soup taste, next time around I think I may try using just cream of potato soup. We'll see. :)

I do realize these soups are not really homemade, since it's pretty much just combining canned ingredients - but when it comes to 'cooking' those are the kinds of recipes I like. :) Enjoy!