Creamy & Cheesy Potato Soup

Every once in a great while I will pull out my THRIVE Cookbook so that I can make something with food storage items--really important when you want to "store what you eat and eat what you store."  I highlight them in the book if they turn out really tasty.  Today was a soup kind of day so I thought I would try this recipe and it did not disappoint.  Yum, yum.  There are no leftovers.  Just sayin'.

Ingredients: (I will note THRIVE if I used the dehydrated or freeze dried item)

3 cups THRIVE chicken broth 

1 T chopped onions

1 cup THRIVE Potato Dices

2 T butter

2 T all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper (I am using less next time--yikes!)

1 cup THRIVE Instant Milk, re-hydrated

1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

1.  In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth, onion and potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

2.  Remove from heat and ladle 1/2 the soup mixture into blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth.  Repeat with rest of soup and set soup aside.  I used an immersion blender right in the pot and blended all of the soup at the same time, then poured it into another container and set it aside.

3.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the flour, salt and pepper.  Slowly add the milk while whisking.  Cook and stir the mixture until it is thickened and bubbly.  Stir in the blended potato mixture and the cheese.  Cook and stir until soup is heated through.

TIP:  You could serve this with a variety of drop-ins.  We tried fresh cilantro this time.  Next time maybe bacon pieces, or chopped green chilies.

Source:  THRIVE Cookbook, p. 62.

(I am only highlighting THRIVE foods because that is the brand that I store in my pantry. I am not a paid spokesperson for the company.)