Comfort Food~Potato Soup and Garlic Cheese Biscuits

As a potato lover, you would think I would like potato soup, too. But I don't. However, since most everyone else in my family loves it, I do enjoy making it for them, and I'm continuously trying to find that "perfect" recipe. I already have a recipe that they all love, but it is very time consuming. Thus, it doesn't get made as often as my family would like. I recently made this version, and Mountain Man loved it. The reviews were mixed from the others, but I have to say it was quite easy to put together. Served with garlic-cheese biscuits, it makes great "comfort food."

"Restaurant-Quality Baked Potato Soup"

(We don't like this name, but I guess it says a lot about the fact that people don't cook at home as much as they used to...)

(This makes 6 servings. I made 1-1/2 times this recipe for our family.)

2 potatoes

3 T. butter

2 c. chopped onion

2 T. all purpose flour

4 c. chicken stock

2 c. water

1/4 c. cornstarch

1-1/2 c. potato flakes

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

1 c. half and half

1/2 c. shredded cheddar

8 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled ( I just used real bacon bits)

2 green onions, chopped

Cook potatoes at 450 for 45 min. to 1 hour, or until done. Set aside to cool. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender and golden brown. Stir in flour, and cook 5 minutes to make a roux. Pour in chicken stock and water. Add cornstarch and mashed potato flakes. Season with salt, basil, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove skin from cooled potatoes and discard. Dice potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, and stir into soup, along with half and half. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until thick. Spoon into bowls and garnish with cheese, bacon, and green onion.

~from Allrecipes.com

Of course, we needed a yummy bread to serve with the soup, and my garlic-cheese biscuits seemed perfect. The basic biscuit is from Martha's Family Cookery Book, and I've combined suggestions from other recipes to come up with this final one.

Queen Mom's Garlic-Cheese Biscuits

2 c. unbleached flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

4 T. shortening

1 c. buttermilk

3/4 c. shredded cheese (more to your liking...)

Mix flour, soda, powder, salt and garlic powder together. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Add buttermilk and stir gently to make a soft dough. Add cheddar cheese. Roll out dough on floured surface, and cut out biscuits with biscuit cutter. Place on baking sheet greased with butter, and bake at 400 degrees on top rack for about 12-15 minutes, or until done. Mix 1/4 c. melted butter with 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and brush over tops of biscuits.

I double the recipe to have enough for our family. Enjoy!