April marks the 15th anniversary of my blog, so during the A-Z blogging challenge, I will be sharing previous posts from over 2,000 I have written.
I'm not into cooking, so recipes or food discussions are not a common feature on my blog. However, I do publish a recipe from time to time. Here is a post about a potato and ham soup that Wally made. This was originally published in March 2012.
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Wally Makes SoupWally likes to eat. No, let me correct that. Wally loves to eat. However, he doesn't like to cook. But today, he did just that. I asked him to help me with some potato soup by peeling the potatoes. One thing led to another, and in less than an hour, he had created a delicious potato ham soup.
True to the family tradition, he didn't follow a recipe. He looked at a couple of recipes, took inventory of ingredients on hand, and started cooking. For better nutrition, he added carrots and used low-fat cream cheese. He didn't use onions as a favor to Ward, and he added his own special optional ingredient at the end--Stubb's Spicy BBQ Sauce. The result was a very delicious soup that reminded me of scalloped potatoes with ham. I hope this successful cooking adventure is the beginning of a new trend.
True to the family tradition, he didn't follow a recipe. He looked at a couple of recipes, took inventory of ingredients on hand, and started cooking. For better nutrition, he added carrots and used low-fat cream cheese. He didn't use onions as a favor to Ward, and he added his own special optional ingredient at the end--Stubb's Spicy BBQ Sauce. The result was a very delicious soup that reminded me of scalloped potatoes with ham. I hope this successful cooking adventure is the beginning of a new trend.
Below are basic instructions for making the soup. Detailed recipe at the end.
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| Chop potatoes, celery, carrots, and ham. |
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| Sauté celery, carrots, and garlic, then add potatoes and water. Cook until veggies are tender. Add cream cheese and ham. |
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| Garnish with cheddar cheese and/or Stubb's Spicy BBQ sauce. Serve and enjoy! |
Wally's Potato Ham Soup
Ingredients:
Oil, 1 T
Celery, 2 stalks chopped
Carrots, 3 large chopped
Garlic, 3 cloves minced
Potatoes, 7 medium--5-6 cups chopped
Water, 4 ½ cups
Chicken bouillon cubes, 2
Low-fat cream cheese, 8 oz, softened and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
Ham, 2 cups chopped (¾ lb)
For garnish:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Stubb's BBQ Sauce, 1 teaspoon/bowl
Sauté celery, carrots, and garlic in oil until celery starts to soften.
Add potatoes, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and boil until vegetables are tender. Approximately 10- 15 minutes.
Lower heat or turn off heat on electric range and add cream cheese. Stir until melted.
Stir in ham.
Note: I added a little of Stubb's spicy BBQ sauce into my bowl. It gave the soup just a hint of spicy hotness without overwhelming the other flavors.
My mom and dad just put a little shredded cheese on theirs.
Everyone was happy. I hope you like it too.
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Until next time...
I know you have written some subsequent posts about Wally cooking. All of my sons are the primary cooks for their families, which was a skill they did not get from their dad.
ReplyDeleteWally still doesn't cook a lot, but his brother, Theo, is a very good cook. When the schedule works out, we like to get together and do some batch cooking.
DeleteSounds delicious! I wouldn't have thought to add the BBQ sauce, but I bet it did add a touch of spice. Thanks Wally!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that I liked the BBQ sauce in the soup, but I did. Sometimes, it's good to get a non-cook to make something because they think outside of the box.
DeleteI can't cook or like to cook. The problem with cooking is that there is so many ingredients to just one dish and then there's the problem how much each ingredient is needed. I know some people can just cook without measuring or without even thinking how much to use. That potato soups looks good though I would skip on the bbq spicy sauce.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
The people who cook without measuring are people who have a lot of practice and have learned over the years what works. If you don't like to cook, it's hard to get that practice.
DeleteBBQ sauce is an unusual addition (I seem to be in the minority here, but I like to cook, especially making soup) but I have a non-soup recipe which combine BBQ sauce with potatoes, and it's delicious, so I can see how it would work here. My husband typically cooks by instinct, but I prefer to have a recipe. I follow my tried-and-true recipes loosely, but it keeps me from forgetting key ingredients.
ReplyDeleteI liked my mother's method. Anytime she was making something for the first time without a recipe, she would measure and write down the ingredients and amounts. Then she would know what she wanted to change, if anything. She didn't always use her recipe later, but I'm glad she wrote them down because I have them today.
DeleteI am a basic cook, nothing fancy. This soup seems pretty easy to me, and delicious!
ReplyDelete