Pepperjack Potato Soup

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kim brought us a bowl of this soup….and we devoured it. It was SUPER yummy! I didn’t want to share with Barry, but he has this habit of sticking around when it’s time to eat. I asked her for the recipe so I could make it and share it with you guys. This is her sister, Martha’s, recipe, and it will make you very, very, very happy. Even my daughter who hates potatoes chowed down on this. It’s miracle soup.

You’ll need potatoes, onion, garlic, celery, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, milk, chopped bacon, and salt and pepper to taste.  We love pepper jack cheese! Maybe it’s because we love hot food…..that’s deep. The recipe said you could add fresh jalapenos, but I didn’t want to give Annie too much heat – so I put those on the table and we added them to our bowls. Kim says it’s great when you add hot sauce, but I didn’t try that. Here’s a tip – if your nose isn’t running, it’s not hot enough.

Grab a big soup pot and boil your potatoes just until they’re soft enough to mash. This is my Club Dutch Oven…..and we’re in love. I love Club cookware. I have a few pieces, but they are really old. They used to be my Grandmaw’s, and she gave them to me when I went to college. This pot was a gift from Barry’s Aunt Judy – she knows me well. Want to make Stacy happy? Buy her a pot….no, not pot – A POT.

While the potatoes are boiling, you need to sauté your onions and celery until they’re softened. When they’re almost done, add your garlic and give it a stir. I was feeling sorta lazy, so I didn’t use fresh – I used the canned stuff. Sue me.

When your veggies are softened, you need to add one cup of milk, the sour cream, and the cheese. Dice your cheese up first so it will melt faster. Stir it around a bit and let everything blend and melt. Don’t boil it…..milk and sour cream do funny things when they boil. They look gross. I cooked mine on medium-low so it wouldn’t boil……..low would probably work too.

When your potatoes are done, drain them…..and steam up your glasses so you can’t see. I’m blind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! False alarm.

Grab your potato masher and semi-mash the chunks. You don’t want them totally mashed…..leave some chunks for texture.

To your mashed potato mixture, add the melted cheese mixture and give it a stir. It’s going to be VERY thick. I wasn’t even able to stir because it was so thick.

Add milk to get the consistency that you desire. If you want it really thick, you’ll add less milk. If you like thinner soup, you’ll add more milk. Pretty complicated, right? I put the lid on mine and let it warm up for about 15 minutes while I watched Elmo with Annie. La, la, la, la Elmos’ song!

You’ll have to add pepper and salt to taste. I probably added a tablespoon of salt and just put in some fresh ground pepper. Always use FRESH pepper when you can. It will totally change your life. You’re welcome.

Serve with bacon on top…..these are turkey bacon bits. I like turkey bacon – I confess. I like it better than regular bacon. I’m weird.This will get sorta thick in the refrigerator, so when I reheat it I just add a bit of milk and stir. It will probably need more salt after that too….but I like salt. Lots of salt. Please pass the salt.