Winter Soup Recipe

The coldest time of the year is always the best time to learn a new winter soup recipe. There is something special about sitting in front of a cozy fireplace with a nice hearty soup. It's hard not to feel good while doing this, and quite often it brings back some really great memories. Here is a favorite among soup lovers:

What you will need for the winter soup recipe:

• 1 stick of butter (a quarter of a pound)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1 medium onion, peeled and very coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped
• 12 to 15 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into large chunks
• water to cover the potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely shredded
• approximately 1 cup of whole milk (will vary)

 How to prepare the winter soup recipe:

1. Melt the butter. Add the butter and olive oil to a four or five quart soup pot and melt the butter over medium heat. The olive oil will keep the butter from burning.
2. Add the celery and onion. Add the celery and onion to the melted butter and sauté until almost tender.
3. Add the potatoes. Put the potatoes into the pot with the celery and onion and cook on medium heat until the chunks start to brown. Don't completely brown them; just cook them until they are starting to brown on all sides.
4. Add the water. Add just enough water to the pot until the water is almost to the top of the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil; then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are fork tender, but not mushy.
5. Add the salt and pepper. Season the soup to your liking with salt and pepper.
6. Add the carrot. Add the shredded carrot until it looks right to you. Remember, this is not carrot soup; you are mostly added the carrot for eye-appeal.
7. Add the milk. Add some of the milk and stir everything together. You will have to make a judgment call here; you don't want too much milk and you don't want too little. If the soup looks watery, add more milk. If it looks somewhat white and milky, it's probably alright. You can always add more later. Continue to let the winter soup simmer for about fifteen minutes. Stir it often to keep the milk from scalding. If it starts to scald, reduce the heat.

This winter soup recipe is best served hot with fresh warm bread topped with butter. A green salad and some steamed winter squash would make nice complements.