Good recipe for a cold day: Potato Soup (with or without additions)

I did a lot of baking yesterday afternoon- chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and one of my favorites, carrot raisin bread. I also made potato soup for dinner. It's turning cold again and there's no better time for soup and fresh bread hot from the oven.

If you've ever seen me cook you'd know I don't go by recipes other than what's in my head/what I make up. There are so many variations on what I do and I do try to give good directions/ingredient lists/measurements but mostly, "I am a pinch, douse, and handful" type of gal. I also substitute ingredients too depending on what I have. This recipe could be done with all milk and no stock, water instead of stock or all stock. You can add heavy cream and/or butter. There are so many variations. The recipe for soup makes about 10 single size servings.

Potato broccoli soup-
1 medium onion (or half a large)
3 ribs of celery (more or less)
1 clove of garlic (more or less)
3 slices of bacon (optional- sometimes I have it, sometimes I don't.)
8 ounces of frozen broccoli (half a 1 lb. package, more or less, optional)
7-10 small/medium potatoes (peeled, cut tin half and chopped-how small you chop them will determine cooking time.)
2 cups cheddar cheese (I like sharp the best but a mixture of cheeses will due. I had a "fiesta" blend last night that I used)
*2 cups of water (or 2 cups of chicken stock or veggie stock)
2 chicken bullion cubes if you aren't using stock and want to (or vegetable cubes or just plain water)
*2 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil (if you're not using bacon to saute the veggies in)
Heavy cream (totally optional to be added at the end when you add your cheese. DO NOT add this during cooking or it will curdle.)

*Please note: We like our potato soup on the thicker side so the liquid measurements worked well on consistency for us. If you have more potatoes (or less) you'll need to adjust measurements accordingly and depending on how thick (or thin) you like it, you'll need to adjust too.

Chop onions, celery and garlic and saute with bacon or olive oil on med/low stirring occasionally. DO NOT LET THE GARLIC BURN. Sometimes I prefer to have crispy bacon as a topping so I'll cook it up first, set it aside on a paper towel to drain and saute the onions, garlic and celery in the fat. Last night I just cooked them all together.

Usually it takes too long to peel the potatoes while this other stuff is sauteing but if it's on low, you may be able to peel and chop in time.  Once your onions, garlic, and celery is soft, add your potatoes and coat them in the oil/grease and let them cook a bit. You don't have to do this but I think it adds more depth of flavor. You could just throw the potatoes in and then your liquid(s) & bullion cubes. Add broccoli after your liquids.

You can put a lid on at this point but I would recommend setting it in such a way that it can vent but don't want away and forget it you may need to turn it down. With milk in this soup, it WILL boil over. I prefer to leave the lid off and cook on med/low and turn the heat down if need be just so it's at a slow simmer. 

Simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Cooking time will depend on how coarsely chopped your potatoes and broccoli were. You want them as soft as you would if you were cooking mashed potatoes. At this point, I turn off my heat and use my stick blender carefully to blend it all. I have used a potato masher in the past but an electric mixer would work too, IF you even want it blended at all. Some people don't. Some times I dice the potatoes small and roughly blend it so I get bits of potato. At this point, if you want to add a few pads of butter, you're welcome to. I let my soup sit a while before adding my cheese if I have time.

And serve. There have been times I have served this over white rice (starch lovers dream I know!) or brown rice (especially if I am making Jambalaya and people don't like Jambalaya and prefer potato soup. Since both dishes start out the same, it's not too much work). Toppings run the gantlet and are optional: sour cream, crispy bacon, green onions, etc. So, you can get as hearty (and fat laden) as you wish, or don't.

Some other ideas for additions would be corn or shredded carrots (like I did lasts night since I was making carrot raisin bread and shredded too many). I've even added shredded zucchini once and it was delicious.