Pregnancy Craving #15

So what's the new craving? Homemade, spicy, potato soup made with ginger, cloves, cheddar cheese, and just a pinch of cumin, mmmmm.
And in case you didn't know, or have never tried it, there's nothing that goes with soup better than saltine crackers smeared with butter.

Spicy Potato Soup

potatoes (more or less, depending on your number of servings)
salt
pepper
cumin
powdered ginger
powdered cloves
diced onion (dried or fresh, and the amount may vary depending on your fondness for onions. I love them)
shredded cheddar cheese
instant mashed potato flakes
milk

Cut potatoes into cubes and put in a pot big enough to fully submerge the potatoes in water. For six medium potatoes. Fill pot with water about an inch above the tops of the potatoes. Add 1tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tbsp. powdered ginger, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. powdered cloves, and diced onions (I use about half of a large onion, but the dried kind work well, too). Put on stove and let it come to a boil, then turn down heat enough to keep it from boiling over but still boiling. Cook until potatoes are tender and cut apart easily with a spoon's edge. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of instant mashed potato flakes and stir well. If too thick, add more milk. If too thin, add more potato flakes, but be careful, because you can easily end up with mashed potatoes. Add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (one of the best parts).

This potato soup is very spicy, so it may have to be modified depending on you and your family's tastes, but the general seasonings work well in smaller amounts, too (my daughter and husband like spicy foods). This is also a darker brown than traditional potato soup, so if your kids notice the color difference, you might want to prepare them ahead of time (yeah, I've got one of those kids).

Hope ya'll enjoy the soup on a nice fall afternoon as much as I did! (And still am! I love left over soup, and this one tastes as good or better left over!) Sorry, I have no picture, but it's all gone.