Potato Chili Cheese Soup

My sister and I are complete opposites. Actually, opposites really doesn't seem to fully describe how different we are. I can't wait to get moved south to the Carolina's and be warm, while sis has her family settled in Canada, where they are as content as can be. I love Kevin Bacon, maybe cuz he has bacon in his name or he is just a great actor. My sis can not stand him, she will leave the room if he is in a movie we are watching. Finally, the biggest difference, she and her family are vegetarians. I require my daily intake of meat, be it beef, bacon, chicken, bacon, pork, venison or even... you guessed it bacon. Sis has always been a full believer in organic foods. I never was. Not saying I have changed my mind on all that, but I have stopped saying she is wrong, too. With what she has always been lecturing me on, and what my friend over at Kacey Cooks is teaching us, you have to stop and listen.  If Sis is reading this, she might just take that as I am saying she was right about something!

Now that I have brought you up to speed on the lifestyle differences, on to the rest of the story. We were all skyping after Christmas, and I showed them the new immersion blender I got for Christmas. I was really so excited about receiving this gift, and the fact that I finally had one. It was just one of those gadgets I would never buy for myself, and it finally came as a Christmas gift, actually I got two! Guess everyone was listening!

When my brother-in-law saw the blender, he was telling me about his favorite soup to make with their blender. Oh yeah, there is another difference, I love to cook, Sis.. not so much. Brother-in-law does the cooking up there. I have never used one of their family recipes before due to our differences in food choices, but I just love a good soup, and had to trust them on this one. It took a couple days, but they finally got the recipe emailed to me.  Let me just tell you, this soup is O. M. G.  Amazeballs! It has such an amazing flavor from all the peppers and spices, but no heat (Truckin' Man was happy).  I am sure I could have made the soup a little smoother with some more practice with the blender, but I actually like the little bit of texture. I will no longer question their food choices, and look forward to the next recipe!!! 

Potato Chili Cheese Soup (Slightly adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest via My Sis )

4- 5 medium potatoes
3 cups water

1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
1 3/4 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. basil (I used dried)
2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
Lots of freshly ground pepper (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
1 1/2 c. diced green bell pepper
1 c. diced canned green chilies **
3/4 c. sour cream  (I used greek yogurt)
1 c. milk
3/4 c. (packed) grated jack cheese
2 scallions, finely minced (whites & greens) (optional)
Cilantro (optional)

Scrub the potatoes, cut them into small chunks and cook them in the water, partially covered, until tender (about 20 minutes). Cool to room temperature.
 
Meanwhile, begin sauteing onions in combined butter and olive oil in large heavy skillet. After several minutes add salt, cumin, basil, garlic, and black pepper. Continue until onions are getting soft (about 8 minutes). Add chopped peppers and saute a few more minutes.  Set aside.
 
Puree the potatoes in their cooking water. Return puree to large sturdy sauce pan.  Add the saute, plus the green chilies, sour cream, and milk. Puree until well blended.  Heat very gently over low heat.
 
When soup is hot, stir in cheese and scallions and serve. Garnish with cilantro, if you like.

**Note from Sis:  (Be sure to go through the chili peppers thoroughly and pull our any stems and husks. You just want the peppers)

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