.................................................................

.....whew, what a day!! yes, i know it says kelly's kitchen & yes, there is a recipe below but first i gotta vent....

i was a bit ill last night when i found out i was cancelled at work today....i mean, i really needed to work....but oh well....so instead i lounged on the couch, drank coffee, talked to the people at disney about our up coming trip, & generally was just lazy....i peeled myself up long enough to pick up the dry cleaning & get a few things at the grocery store.....it was just a soup kind of day & i needed the ingredients for potato soup (more on that later)....

when i get home, only about a hour or hour & a half later, i hear this weird noise....i start searching the house....i then realize it is coming from outside.....oh crap! (yup, no polite words or witty thoughts)....water was gushing out from under our back deck....ugh....a pipe had burst... ugh.ugh.....and i was home alone....UGH! luckily, which never happens, brett actually was able to answer his cell phone at school and was home in about 20 minutes.....

we were very lucky.....it was a small, exposed, not under the house but under the deck pipe....it was going up to the water spicket....shew, that was close....we get the water to the house cut off...brett pulls up the slat of wood on the deck & then we wait for the plumbers....while we wait, i decide to go ahead & make my soup....i mean, we still have to eat dinner and what better than warm soup to soothe the soul....

yeah, no souls are soothed yet......the pipe is fixed.....but our bank account & pride is busted....wow...i really, really think we were taken tee-total advantage of and the plumbers haven't heard the last of us.....but what was there to do?? i know copper pipe is expensive, but seriously?!?! this is ridiculous.....ahh, life's trials & tribulations...it will be interesting to hear what the manager has to say tomorrow.....i say it was price gouging....we shall see....

all that said to remind me of a few things......i am NOT in control, NEVER will be in control, He is!! i now know why i was at home today & not at work.....i also know that we should never get too comfortable when things seem to be running smooth....that's about the time for a test, He is always testing our faith....i am staying positive....we are all healthy, the house is not flooded, it is fixed, we have running water & it could ALWAYS be worse....hopefully the financial aspects will work out but in these ridiculous cold temps i am just so very grateful to have a warm home with water to come home to....so many do not...yet again, i am humbled....

My Potato Soup

now then....time for a recipe....or at least a method....this is partially a real recipe & partially a me tweaking things.....but i must say....anything that has these two in it MUST be good....

looking good!!

oh, that in the back......Cold Night Soup....yummy!! i posted that recipe before, click here...i decided to do it on the stove top instead of crockpot...

and after you make all these soups, here is what you have......lots & lots of yummy soups....some for now, some to freeze & some to share ~ my favorite!

Potato Soup

1 pound of bacon, cut into fourths

1 white or sweet onion, diced

8 russet potatoes, chopped

4 cups heavy cream

4 cups 1/2 & 1/2

salt & pepper to taste (it will take a good bit)

2 tsp flour

3 cups sharp shredded cheddar

- use a large stock pot for this. cook bacon in bottom of stock pot until crispy, remove and reserve & leave all drippings. cook onions & potatoes in bacon drippings 5-10 mins. potatoes should start getting tender.

-stir in creams & salt and pepper. allow soup to come to a boil & simmer for a little bit. i know this is not precise but like i said...it is more of a method & it is hard to tell how long it will take your taters :)

- i like to take a metal potato masher & mash up the chunks of potatoes occasionally while the soup simmers. stir often, making sure to pick up the bits off the bottom.

- when you get a good potato consistency & they are tender you can start adding in the cheese. before adding cheese though, toss it in a big bowl with the flour until coated. add cheese a little at a time until melted thoroughly.

- at this point, when all cheese is in, the soup could be a bit thick....add a cup or so of water or stock to thin it out.....again, until you like the consistency....also, after adding cheeses you may need to taste it & salt and pepper it again.

- last but not least, stir the bacon back in & serve....so rich, so thick, so yummy!! the amount above makes a ton.....feel free to half if you don't want to feed the russians :)

....the whole process takes about a hour, hour & a half....like i said, it has definite ingredients but the whole preparation part is total just method....this also explains why i can't bake....too exact for my liking!

thanks for sticking around for the longest blog post ever....hopefully it will be rewarding to you if you try the soup!