Kristen's Cheesy Potato Soup with a Kick

Living in China, sometimes I just really miss Western food. Western restaurants are few and far between and the supermarkets are stocked with unfamiliar goods for an American like me, so I've learned to work with what I've got.

And sometimes that results in some super awesome meals made from scratch! Like tonight! Here is my recipe for a cheese and potato soup that I found quite delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1/2 carrot (diced)
1/2 onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (sliced)
2 large potatoes (diced)
2 tbs flour
5 cups water
1/2 cup milk
8 oz. Velveeta or other cheese
Butter or olive oil
salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper sauce or Tabasco sauce (optional)

Disclaimer: Okay, so you may have noticed that some things on the ingredient list seem odd for China, and you're right. The Velveeta was kindly sent to me by my lovely friend Elizabeth, and the Red Hot cayenne pepper sauce was brought here by Betsy.

Step 1: Saute the carrots, onions, and garlic in butter or olive oil. You could also use different veggies here too, like broccoli. Or other yummy things, like ham.

Step 2: Once the onions look soft and translucent, add a little flour to create a roux. I actually didn't really measure anything in making this soup, so 2 tbs is just an estimate.

Step 3: Add in the potatoes and water (which should completely submerge all the vegetables). Boil until the potatoes are very soft and mashable.

Step 4: Use a potato masher to mash some of the potato pieces, creating a creamy soup. You don't have to mash all of the pieces, just enough to get it creamy.

Mash mash mash!

Step 5: Add in milk and cheese. I used 8 oz, but if you like it really cheesy, add as much as you want!

Mmm cheese!

Step 6: Add salt and pepper to taste... and because I live in southern China and I can't live without spicy food anymore, I added quite a bit of Red Hot cayenne sauce. It definitely added a little kick to the flavor! It still tastes good without, though.

Ahhh so delicious! I only wish I had a better camera so that it looked as good as it tasted. I am definitely going to make this soup over and over again!