My husband bought a bunch of fresh parsley last week to make fish cakes (new recipe for us). All I could think is why fresh? It will go to waste in our house! So I wondered what I could make to use some. I remembered as a kid that we had parsley growing under our kitchen window...I'd go pluck some to make homemade potato soup...probably the only "from scratch" thing I knew how to make. I also have a bunch of potatoes that need to be used up...soup should be the answer to my dilemma. Problem is, I have no idea what that recipe is. Lucky for me...I have the Internet.
So I went online to find a recipe that doesn't include celery. My husband hates that stuff (I can't imagine soup without it). The one I found seemed pretty easy. Here's the original ingredients...and my substitutions.
Ingredients:
- 8 large potatoes, cubed - I used 10 potatoes because there were a few small ones.
- 1 cup chopped onion - I was going to use a whole onion but seeing that this only called for 1 cup, I opted to use a partial one I found in the fridge.
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine - I used some European butter my husband likes.
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes - we don't use bouillon cubes in our house - don't like MSG and hate reading labels on those little containers. I substituted with a 14 oz can of chicken broth.
- 2 tablespoons dry parsley flakes - fresh parsley baby!! As for measurement, I used a handful.
- 6 cup water - took it down to 4 cups because of the can of broth.
- 2 cup milk & 1/2 cup flour, mixed with water - this comes at the end of recipe...hopefully I'll remember to use them!
Stuff I added:
- Salt & pepper - no I didn't measure it out - my home economics teacher would say this is not a real recipe unless you say how much to use...but I salt & pepper to taste!
- 2 cloves of garlic - not in the picture because I thought to add them while I was peeling the potatoes!
Of course I can't chop up potatoes and NOT slice myself some raw taters with salt & pepper to eat on the side! ;o)
Pour into the crockpot the chicken broth, water & potatoes.
I learned from Pioneer Woman that you cut an onion from root to tip & then slice & dice. Out of curiosity...and to keep my home economics teacher happy, I measured what half of a big onion is...and look, it's just over 1 cup!
Mince up the garlic & add it too (sorry no photo, didn't think you'd need one!)
Rinse, pat dry & de-stem the fresh parsley. Tear or cut in with a very sharp knife - if you use a chopper or mince it, it gets all squishy & might turn your soup a greenish color (that's what happened to our fish cakes!). From watching cooking shows I found an easy way to chop leafy stuff is to roll it up (not easy with lil leaves!) and then slice as if it were a sold object. Sorry no photo here...I had to use both hands!
Add to pot along with salt & pepper and butter.
Stir & set crock pot on high for 1 to 2 hours. Of course, as Murphy's Law would state...I got sidetracked and my errand running took a bit longer than planned & the soup was on high for 4 hours! Boy did it smell good when we got home.I mixed the flour with a little water...it turned into a yucky paste...but I dumped it into the pot with the milk anyway. Now it's supposed to simmer for awhile longer and (hopefully) thicken.
After about a half hour I tasted it, and added some more ground pepper. Another half hour & I was too hungry to wait any longer. I made myself a bowl and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top. I read that some people also add some sour cream & chopped green onions. But I was too hungry to do anything more than add cheese!
Verdict: Flavor - Yum. Consistency - not creamy enough. Anyone got any suggestions? I have an entire crockpot full, so I can still add stuff to it to improve it.
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