Potato Soup

When I was a little girl, my mother would often make potato soup. I was a "picky child" and didn't really like it. She would add milk to her soup, which, at the time, I thought ridiculous. When I became old enough to cook, I made potato soup just like she did, leaving out the milk. It was better tasting to my picky tongue.

I've improved upon the basic recipe over the years. So here's my potato soup recipe:

5 medium potatoes, diced into bite sized chunks
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
a couple drops of liquid smoke (optional)
1 med onion

Just cover the potatoes with water in a pot. Add the seasoning salt and liquid smoke. You can also put in a handful of dry vegetable soup mix, if you like. Put the lid on. Bring to a light boil on medium heat, then turn down the heat to medium low, so it simmers.

Meanwhile, dice the onion. Drizzle a little olive oil in a pan and heat it up (you can cook them with water if you're cutting out all the extra fat, but to me, a tiny bit of olive oil is trivial, and for the results, well worth it). Caramelize the onions, then add them to the pot of potatoes.

When the potatoes are tender, it's done. If you'd like your potato soup cheesy, let it cool a few minutes then stir in about 4 oz shredded cheddar.

Served with dry bacon bits sprinkled on top.