Potato Cheese Soup

In the days of old, back in the early eighties, my sister and her then new husband made a big pot of potato cheese soup for our family. One bite of this magnificent soup, and I was sold for a lifetime.

Several months later I made this soup for my boyfriend, and I'm not saying anything other than this: He eventually married me. The soup is that good.

So for any of you ladies wanting to impress your man, here is the recipe.

Potato Cheese Soup

2 1/2 cups water (add salt as desired)
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered mustard
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (or 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce)
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. parsley flakes
Dill weed

Place potatoes, celery and onion in the 2 1/2 cups salted water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. In another saucepan, blend flour into milk with a wire whisk. Gradually heat this mixture adding salt, pepper, powdered mustard, and soy sauce. Stir constantly until mixture is thick. Add butter, and stir until the butter is melted. Then pour the thickened milk mixture into the pan of cooked vegetables. Add tomatoes and grated cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add parsley flakes and dill weed. Simmer soup for about 10 minutes. It is delicious with crackers or with warm french bread.

Just a note: My sister and her husband don't really measure the veggies. They just throw in a bunch, and cover them with water. I, on the other hand, being a perfectionist, carefully measure everything. Also a word about the salt...since the recipe calls for salt and soy sauce, I often cut this down even further. You salt fanatics can go nuts though. You can use as much as 2 1/2 tsp. salt. It just depends on how much you can tolerate salt.