Expect the unexpected...

Good evening, everyone!  I trust you had a blessed day.

I told you yesterday that I would probably blog about my little cubicle office space.  Well, that didn't exactly happen today.  Several things came up -- and then got in the way of my blogging fun.  So I had to actually work today.  So, you'll get to see something else this time.

Baby, it's cold outside!  And I had a lousy day at work!  What goes better with a cold, lousy day?  Home made potato soup.

Thought I'd share my recipe with you.  Now, I'm no cook -- but I do make a mean potato soup.  Comfort in a bowl!  Let me tell you...

NOTE:  This soup is by no means healthy.  In fact, it is loaded with sodium - so if you're on a low sodium diet, you might want to tweak the recipe to fit your needs.

First, I start with about 8 cups of cold water in my stock pot.  Very important to start with cold water.  I'm not sure why -- but I always start with cold water.  Probably because I don't want to wait for the hot water.  To that I add 4 chicken bouillon cubes. That's where the flavor comes from (and the sodium.)

Next I add in 1 cup chopped carrots.  I like baby carrots because they're already pealed, and they're sweeter.

After the carrots, I add about 1/2 cup diced white onion.  That's about 1/2 a small onion.  Diced finely, but not too finely.

After the onions, I add 2 stalks of diced celery.  I like celery, but not a large amount.  Of course, you can always add more if you like.

I throw all that into the pot of chicken "stock."  Then get your potatoes ready.  I use 6 or 7 smallish potatoes (about the size of my fist.)  I don't peal them.  I just wash them and scrub them with my veggie brush.  Then I start the dicing process.  I like about 1/2 inch cubes.

All of that into the pot!  Yummy goodness!
Let it simmer over medium high heat for about 15 minutes until the root vegetables become fork tender.  Don't over cook, or they'll get mushy.

While your potatoes and veggies are cooking, you'll want to make a slurry.  A slurry is different from a rue because you just mix your milk and flour in a bowl and then pour it into your soup to thicken it.  A rue is where you brown flour in butter (or such) before adding liquid to make a gravy, or sauce.


I use 1/3 cup of flour -- Self rising or plain, it doesn't matter.
I used 1/2 cup of 1% milk.

Put them together in a bowl with a tightly fitting lid -- cover and shake, shake, shake, until all the flour is absorbed into the milk.

After your potatoes and other veggies are fork tender, you slowly pour in your slurry.

Give it a little stir -- and don't be alarmed if you see little "flour lumps" forming in your soup.  Don't worry!  They'll cook in and disappear, and thicken your soup.

Cover your soup and let it simmer on low for approximately 5 - 10 minutes.  At this point, I always add a sprinkle of dried rosemary.  I only use about 1/8 teaspoon.  It's enough to flavor your soup, but not over powering.  I also add freshly ground black pepper at this point.

When your soup has thickened to your liking, serve it up!  Home made biscuits are da bomb with this soup... but bread or rolls work well, too.

Now for the unexpected bonus:


This is just something I came up with to use when we have company or guests for parties or holidays.

I always have lots of coffee made; both regular and decaf.  But sometimes it's hard to keep reminding everyone which carafe has which coffee in it.  I tried labels on the carafe, but they got torn off, or dripped on...

So, now I have these sweet little plaques I use.  They were simple to make.  Two small frames, some scrapbook paper of your choice, and my printer.  I just printed out a regular and decaf "label" on card stock, cut it out and glued it to the scrapbook paper.  Slid them in the frames, and I was done.  So easy!  So, so easy!

Enjoy your night!  Hope to see you all soon!

Billie