"Trevorlicious" Creamy Bell Pepper Sweet Potato Soup! This recipe makes about 8 quarts and is suitable to freeze in Kerr jars (don't put lid on tight) or plastic containers. Anyone will eat it, you can't see the ingredients. The only strong taste is the bell pepper, which is a wonderful taste. The ingredients in the picture are all that's in it, so it is very healthy for you. For lower salt content, use less bouillon. Ingredients: 5-6 Lbs Sweet Potatoes/Yams, 6 Red/Yellow/Orange Sweet Bell Peppers, 1-2 Large Onions, 2-3 Heads of Garlic, Chicken Bouillon for 8 Qts, 2 Heaping teaspoons of Kirkland's Brand (Costco) No-Salt Seasoning. Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste. In an 8 quart pot cut everything up. Don't cut anything fancy, you are going to just throw it in a blender in the end so it doesn't matter. When you cut up the potatoes/yams, don't peal them, just cut off the ends and slice them up into large chunks. They pratically dissolve after they are cooked and the skins are very thin. Waste nothing. When doing the onion and garlic, same thing, nothing fancy. You don't really have to chop up the garlic, just peal and smash them to get the juices flowing and expose the insides. Put everything into the pot and put water up to the top. Simmer all this until everything is cooked. If it is the winter time and it is cold outside, I love to simmer for hours, just to warm up the house and make it smell amazing. Cool the pot by putting it into a bath of water in the sink. You don't want to blend up the soup when it is hot! You must have one very large bowl or pot to put the final soup into so you can stir it all together so it is homogenous. You want it all to be the same. Blend the soup, it will take some time. It is possible that it will be very thick and hard to blend. Don't put too much in the blender so you can add a little bit of water to get the soup going in the blender. You want to let it blend as long as you can stand the noise, it will be more creamy. Put the soup one batch at a time into the large container or back into the pot, stir it all together so it will all taste the same. The whole blending part takes coordination with your containers so think ahead. It will be worth the time and effort. I have put the soup into one quart kerr jars and frozen it. You must NOT tighten the lids until after it is completely frozen. Use plastic containers as well for storage. I have yet to "bottle" or "can" it so it could be stored on the shelf, but I will do that and put my comments here on how successful it is. Once it is creamy, reheat and serve with fresh ground pepper. It is a meal all by itself, some wonderful bread is a worthy companion. A few comments on the type of ingredients that you use. I wouldn't use green bell peppers, it is a huge difference in taste from the yellow, red, and orange ones. Use very good quality chicken bouillon, and as stated if you want less salt, use less bouillon. And don't add any extra salt on top of the bouillon, there is so much in that you don't need it. I have made other soups with an assortment of spices and they were good, but the moment I used this spice from costco I decided this is all I will use from now on. It is perfect for this soup and you don't have to add anything extra except maybe some fresh groud pepper if you would like. I will admit that doing all this is a lot of work. But it is wonderful to have all this soup for later or give it away to others. Once you make it once you are hooked. Enjoy, Trevor the Creator of the Soup! AKA Trevorlocity, AKA T-bone, AKA, Trevorlicous, AKA The Soup Nazi

I've been making quite a lot of Potato Soup lately - my dad likes it a lot, and he needs to gain weight so he can have chemo. This version has cream and whole milk, but you can leave the cream out if you're not trying to gain weight, like my dad is. Potato Soup Ingredients 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 medium stalks of celery, finely chopped 2 large (or 4 small) potatoes, peeled and chopped small 3 tablespoons butter 1 scant tablespoon flour 3 cups chicken stock 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half Salt and Pepper to taste Directions Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan, over moderate heat. Add onions, garlic, and celery, and cook until translucent. Increase heat to just shy of 'high' and sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook until flour starts to coat the bottom of the pan and brown slightly, then add chicken stock, thyme, and potatoes and bring up to a boil, then reduce heat, put the lid on, and let it simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check potatoes with a fork. If they feel done (if you're not sure, pull one out and taste it), add the milk and the cream or half-and-half, and add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the soup at this stage, or you can puree it in a blender until smooth. I do it both ways. The soup in the photo above was halfway between the two: I pureed about 1/3 of it and added it back to the rest of the soup. It makes it a bit more velvety that way. You can serve this plain (the way my dad prefers it), or you can add crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, fried onions, chopped ham, green onions - whatever suits your fancy. January 14, 2008.