Submitted By: Jim T.

Jim's Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 qt can chicken stock
• 2 med carrots
• 6 peeled potatoes
• 1 med spanish onion
• 4 slices smoked bacon
• 1 qt heavy cream
• 4 stalks celery with green tops
• 1/4 lb sliced ham
• Corn starch - 1/4 cup
• Optional: Broccoli spears

In soup pot pour chicken stock. Dice potatoes and add to chicken stock. Bring to boil then simmer. Optional: Add chopped broccoli and cook with potatoes. As potatoes are cooking in stock cook bacon in fry pan until crispy. Add bacon grease to potatoe and chicken stock. Crumble bacon and add to stock. Dice celery , carrots, onions. In sauce pan add 2 tbls of butter and add celery,carrots and onions. Cook until slightly clarified. Chop tops of celery green and add to sauce pan.

When potatoes are done remove from heat. With masher mash two to three times in stock pot. Do not mash all the potatoes. Add celery-carrots- onion mixture to stock. Dice up ham and add to stock. Add heavy cream until mixture is creamy. Heat soup thoroughly. Do not boil or cream will seperate. Remove from heat Mix 1/4 cup of corn starch with very cold water to make a smoothe paste. Add slowly to soup until desired thickness develops. The trick to a thick soup is to use very cold water with corn starch.