Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheddar Cheese Soup (Photo credit: sanctumsolitude)

    At the beginning of every New Year people make resolutions to do this, or not to that, and quite often dieting is one of those resolutions. I personally have never bothered with resolutions, but recently I was forced into diet mode.
   There is nothing like waking up one morning with a tooth gone bad and when you look in the mirror you are reminded of Elmer Fudd with a wad of chew tucked in his jaw. This is not a good time at all, especially because it severely interferes with eating.
   So until I could get into a dentist, I thought I'd make some potato soup to get me through. Well, that didn't work, I usually don't peel the potatoes and the skins did me in - cream of chicken worked much better. 
   I finally realized that my body was running on empty. So I decided to "power-up" my calories. Potatoes with plenty of butter, cheese and cream cheese were a great choice to help power up. This is a creamy potato soup that my daughter would call a chowder and is rich and full of flavor.

Cheesy Potato Soup
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 medium onion, diced fine
1/2 stalk celery, diced
4-5 baby carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 (8 oz.) pkg of cream cheese, softened
1 heaping tablespoons butter (about 2 T.)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 tsp. white pepper
4 chives, diced
1/2 cup milk

In large saucepan, cover potatoes, garlic, onions, and salt with water and cook until tender (about 45 minutes). Do not drain. Add cream cheese and butter and stir until melted. Add canned soups and milk, mixing well. Stir until blended and simmer for 30 minutes. Top with chives before serving. Serve hot.

Option - top with crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.

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