Ms. Berta's Potato Cheese Soup

Ms. Berta

A number of years ago - well quite a number of years ago -, Ms. Berta, a dear friend and co-worker brought this Potato Cheese Soup to an office potluck. At the time, I couldn't even tell you how to turn my stove on. But this Potato Cheese Soup was soooo good! Ms. Berta gladly jotted down her recipe for me.

O ver the years, I attempted to find the knob or button on the stove to try a little cooking and made this soup several times. It was always wonderful. However, after moving in 2013 to a new location, downsizing, rearranging, organizing and such things, I misplaced my handwritten Potato Cheese Soup recipe. Being much older... I could still see the handwritten recipe in my ole mind, even her treasured signature with a great, big scripted B, but alas the specifics had evaporated from my memory bank.

T he weather had turned much cooler and it was time for this soup, so I sent Ms. Berta an email asking (well, begging maybe...) if she could recall the recipe and share with me once more. Being the gracious lady that she is, my email dinged with a response shortly thereafter, with all the detail. Yippee! So, off to the store I went to grab all the goodies and a few extras to "kick it up" because I wanted to try this recipe with a little more spice and use one of my trusty slow cookers instead of the stove top.

S o, Let's Try It!

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped(I used three, 'cause I like garlic.)
• 2 jalapeno's, whole or chopped or quartered - your choice & I tossed in a couple of small, whole jalapeno's from my garden about half way through the cooking process. 
• 1 tsp. dried Thyme
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 32 oz.(4 c.) chicken broth
• 6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into approx. 1/2 in. pieces or sliced
• 2 cans green chiles, sliced(I like green chiles, so I used two 7 oz. cans
• 2 c. jack cheese, cut into about 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
• salt & pepper, to taste

Garnish: 

• shredded Jack Cheese
• sour cream
• chopped scallions
• cooked, crumbled bacon
• chopped cilantro

Preparation:

 1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet and saute the onion, garlic, jalapeno's and thyme just until the onions start to brown. Approximately 5 minutes, depending on your heat setting.

 2. Stir in flour to combine and slowly whisk in 1 cup of the chicken
broth.

 3. Mix well & transfer to the slow cooker. Add in the chopped or sliced potatoes & the remaining chicken broth. I added a little fresh ground black pepper. Stir to combine well. Cover & cook on low for 5-6 hours. Stir about once an hour & if you like your soup a little more "soupy", you can add some additional broth or a little water.

 4. During the last hour of cooking, stir in the sliced green chiles.

5. If the potatoes are cooked to your desired softness, stir in the cubed Jack Cheese. Cover and heat until melted, stirring as needed.

6.  Stir in the heavy cream. Give it a really good stir to combine.
Cover & let sit for about 5 minutes, until heated through.





W
ell yum! There you have it, my version of Ms. Berta's Kicked Up Potato Cheese Soup! I garnished it with a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro & scallions, crumbled bacon, fresh ground pepper and a little shredded cheddar cheese... cause I just happen to have some on hand! But please, do it your way... ♪ ♬ ♩ ♭ ♫ ♪

Enjoy! WildWSS outta here!