Downright Delcious Potato & Kale Soup

   Potato soup has always been a comfort food for me.  It's been a winter favorite of our family for years. When my kids were little I used a potato soup recipe that called for 2 cups of cheddar cheese.  Every kid I know will eat anything with cheese on it.  Even to this day my kids still like potato soup!

  Besides being so downright delicious, potato soup is also a flexible kind of soup. You can sneak all kinds of vegetables you need to get rid of into that soup, and when it's mashed up they'll never know what they're eating!  

    Every mom needs a standard clean the frig soup.  This recipe comes from my daughter-in-law's family cookbook. To it I added kale, carrots, and parsley--I saw the the kale and carrots as additions in other recipes.  And, of course, I added some cheese

 Potato Kale Soup

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Scrub and cut up 4-5 medium  potatoes.
(2)  Chop up 1 large onion
(3)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic
(4).  Scrub and chop 1-2 carrots
(5)  Wash a bunch of kale. 
(6)  Wash and chop 2-3 T of parsley.

2. Sauté onions and garlic: Melt 3 T butter in a large soup pot over medium heat then add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions are  just slightly brown.

3.  Make the soup:

(1)  Add 2 quarts of water.

(2)  Add the chopped potatoes along with the sautéed vegetables and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

(3)  Then add kale and cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes.

(4)  Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down the heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom.

(5)  Add 1/2 cup of cream (I just used 1 cup of almond milk), 2-3 t of salt and 1 t of black pepper. (At this point I often take out my hand held mini blender and blend the vegetables up a bit more so they're really smooth.)
(6)  Add the cheese.  Taste and make any flavor adjustments

(7)  Cook for 15 minutes over low heat stirring frequently until ready to serve.

List of My Favorite Soups, Chili & Stew Recipes: 

Beef 

Grandma's Favorite Beef Stew  (My mother-in-law's delicious recipe!)

Mouth Watering Italian  Sausage Soup   (This is my friend Debbie's recipe)
Mulligan Stew (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)

Poultry

This is the Best Gluten Free Minestrone Soup!   (A recipe my son modified)

Mexican Fiesta Chicken Soup   (A recipe I got years ago from a Mexican cookbook)
My Thanksgiving Turkey Soup  (My very own special concoction!)
Gary's Incredible Gluten Free Arkansas Gumbo  (Given to me by a Bible study friend from Arkansas)
Jeannie's French Market Soup  (A friend from when my kids were little)
Southwest Turkey Soup  (From my Syre School cookbook)
Italian Wedding Soup - (A friend)


Fish
Northwest Salmon Chowder  (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Almost Like Ivar's Clam Chowder (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Bean & Legumes
Vi's Best Chili  (A  Bible study friend's great recipe)
Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup  (One of my daughter's friends special soup)
Country Style Lentil Soup   (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Kathy's Texas Chili & Chips (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Spicy Cuban Black Bean Soup (From a store recipe card)
Marilyn's Make It From Scratch Chili  (From my mother-in-law)
Lisa's Red Lentil Soup - From my friend Lisa
Texas Pinto Beans & Rice
Curried Lentil Medley   (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Vegetable

Downright Delicious Potato & Kale Soup  (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
A Great Fall Soup - Make it From Scratch Corn Potato Chowder  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
French Pumpkin Soup  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
 

Asian
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage (Modified from Internet search by our Chinese students)
Make Your Own Gluten Free Chicken Pho!  (Modified from a newspaper article)
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Modified by a Chinese student)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup  &  Chinese Egg & Tomato Soup  (Modified  from a student's recipe)

Vegetarian & Gluten Free Tom Yum Soup (A delicious Thai soup) 
Deluxe Miso Soup (Kenchinjiru)   (Adapted from Internet search)
A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung  (A student's mom's recipe)
A Vietnamese Cooking Lesson - Lien's Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup  (An International student's aunt's recipe)
Cooking Beef Pho for Vietnamese Students  (Modified Recipe)
Asian Curried Chicken Soup  (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)
Rose's Very Own Recipe for Chinese Beef Bone Soup  (from Rose my friend from Taipei)