Been using this recipe for years. In fact, it's on the menu for sometime this week. Baked Potato Soup 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped) 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup diced white onion 2 tablespoons flour 4 cups chicken stock 2 cups water 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/8 teaspoon thyme 1 cup half and half Garnish 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon 2 green onions, chopped (green part only) 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to cool. 2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and sauté onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux. 3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size. 5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick. 6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings. Serves 6 to 8.

My Mom always made my Grandmother's Brunswick Stew to welcome the start of winter: Chicken Potato Sliced Carrot Diced Celery Frozen Baby Lima Beans, thawed Canned Whole Kernel Corn, drained Diced canned tomatoes in juice Onion (I have to leave this out when I make it now) A dash of black pepper Salt to season to your preference about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Oregano Chicken Broth Cook the chicken in broth until done, debone if not already boneless, and chop into small enough pieces to fit on your spoon. Cook carrot and celery (and onion if using) in a little water until just starting to soften, add potato (and a little more water if needed) and cook until vegetables are close to done; drain. Combine with chicken, broth, and the rest of the ingredients, cook for at least 1/2 hour to get the lima beans soft. I don't have exact measurements because it depends on whether you are cooking for 1 or a crowd. Basically, I use about 1 large potato to 2 chicken breasts and enough of the other veggies to equal about 2 cups mixed (in about equal parts) when I am making it for DH and me for dinner and plan on having the leftovers for lunch. Edie

Jimster, now you've stepped over the line. Remember, I'm Native American, but the other part is Irish. Let's have a bit of respect for my humble potato! Potatoes are not the cause of obesity, it's the stuff you put on them, the gravy, the sour cream, the butter. An average potato has 45% of the daily value for vitamin C, 620 mg potassium, comparable to bananas, spinach and broccoli, trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and zinc and all for only 110 calories and no fat. And potatoes with the skin on are an excellent source of fiber. In fact, with 2 grams of fiber per serving, a potato equals or exceeds that of many "whole" grain products-whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta and many cereals. Can you tell I love potatoes? (grin) Elery's potato soup is much like Teresa's, with no milk or cream. The potato soup I grew up with was made with items easily grown or produced on the farm, which would be an onion, sauteed in butter, potatoes simmered in a little broth and then mashed and milk added until it was "soup". Salt and pepper to taste. I do agree that our main source of salt is processed food items like canned soup, frozen dinners and specialty meats. Cooking from scratch makes it much easier to control our sodium intake. My Dad was one of those people who salted everything and no amount of salt was too much. I seldom eat processed foods and never salt things like fruit and I always cook potatoes and pasta without salting the water, it used to drive my ex-MIL crazy so I kept doing it. Now I've been on blood pressure meds for several months. Salt doesn't seem to make a difference up or down in my blood pressure and I sure didn't develop high blood pressure because of my salt intake! Annie

My family used to love this one. Haven't made in years, but so yummy. Bacon Potato Cheese Soup 8 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled 1 cup chopped onion 2 cups cubed, peeled potatoes 1 cup water 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 3/4 cup milk 1 (4 oz) container sour cream 1/2 tsp salt Pepper 1 (8 oz) pkg shredded Cheddar cheese In bacon grease, saute onions for 2-3 minutes. Drain. Place onions, potatoes, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Stir in soup, sour cream and crumbled bacon. Add milk, salt and pepper and 1/2 of the cheese. Heat to serving temperature without boiling. Sprinkle remaining cheese on individual serving bowls. Added the bacon as a topping instead of stirring it in.