Creamy Potato Soup

I love, love, love potato soup.  I used for a couple of years a recipe I had gotten from a cookbook, but felt that it was missing something.  So, I have adapted the recipe to my liking.  I'm sure that there is room for improvement - no one's perfect..... well, one man was.  Anyway, I hope you like it and if you can think of something I can do to improve it, let me know.

Creamy Potato Soup ala LaDonna

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. flour
30 oz. chicken broth
1 qt. cream
6-8 c. whole milk
8-10 medium/large potatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt the butter, add the onions and saute until clear. Add the flour and make a roux.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add chicken broth, cream and milk.  Let it cook for a while.  While this is happening, microwave your potatoes untill cooked.  Take two or three of the potatoes and cut them in half.  (Here's a really neat technique I just figured out, so if you already know it, don't laugh that I'm a little late to the game.)  Take the potato halves and lay them cut side up.   Take your potato masher and mash the potatoes.  Remove the skins and save for later.  Dump the mashed potatoes into the soup mix.  Now take the rest of the potatoes and cut them up to put in the soup.  Cut up the left over skins as well.  Simmer for an hour or 4 or 5 hours - being sure to keep it on low heat and stir, otherwise you will scorch the bottom of your pan. 

You can add more potatoes if you want, I think it is a personal preference
That's it.  This soup is better the next day. 

Serve the soup with grated cheese on top.  What a great meal to have on a cold and blustery day.  Mangia!  Mangia!

Same Blog, just a new name - wanted something more original than my name!

Earwarmer Pattern

OK, so I have been itching to try and come up with an easy and quick pattern for an ear warmer. I also wanted a little bit of a challenge, but not so much that a beginning knitter would be turned off. I think finally made up a pattern that covers all my requests. So, here it goes:

Materials:

16" - Size 10 circular needles or straight needles, your choice

1 large button

1 skein Jiffy Yarn - chunky

I didn't worry about gauge so much because it's not a full hat and it's a pretty forgiving item to wear.

Abbreviations:

k1fb - knit one in front and back of stitch

ssk - slip, slip, knit

CO - cast on

Directions:

CO 6

Row 1: Knit

Row 2 and ALL even rows - purl ** Except for Row 6

Row 3: k1fb, k4, k1fb (8 stitches total)

Row 5: k1fb, P2, bind off 2, P2, k1fb (8 stitches) - this is the buttonhole

Row 6: Purl 4, cast on 2, purl 4 (10 stitches)

Row 7: k1fb, P2, K4, P2 k1fb (12 stitches)

Row 9: k1fb, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, l1fb (14 stitches)

Row 11: k1fb, P2, K3, P2, K3, P2, k1fb (16 stitches)

Row 13: k1fb, P2, K4, P2, K4, P2, k1fb (18 stitches)

Repeat Rows 15 - 20 (12 times), ending on the cabling row

Row 15: k2, p2, c4, p2, k2 (18 stitches)

Row 17: k2, p2, k4, p2, k4, p2, k2

Row 19: k2, p2, k4, p2, k4, p2, k2

Row 21: k2tog, p2, k4, p2, k4, p2, ssk

Row 23: k2tog, p2, k3, p2, k3, p2, ssk

Row 25: k2tog, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, ssk

Row 27: k2tog, p2, k4, p2, ssk

Row 29: k2tog, p2, k2, p2, ssk

Row 31: k2 tog, k4, ssk

Row 32: Purl 6

Bind off

If you want to make this narrower, decrease your purls by one on each side and in the middle, so you'll have 15 stitches instead of 18.

If I made any mistakes, please let me know.

If you have tried any of my recipes or my patterns, please leave me feedback. That helps me to improve an item and also gives me new ideas on things to cook or make. Thanks and God Bless!