Green Bean Potato Soup

I visited a farmers market this weekend and bought a ton of produce for less than $20.  If I had gone to the local grocery store I would have spent at least $40 on the same stuff and the quality wouldn't have been as good.  Well when you have a lot of fresh, perishable produce you have to use it rather quickly or it will go bad.  I do not know how to preserve fruits or vegetables at this time...but I would love to learn.

So I asked myself what could I make with the produce I bought and how could I make it less healthy...not really, but in this case this is not the healthiest recipe to make but it tastes delicious.

This recipe can be adjusted to make a lot or a little.

Green Bean Potato Soup

(adjust the ingredients to your taste)

2 quarts yellow and green beans

1 1/2 quarts red new potatoes

1/2 c chopped onion and celery

1/2 pound thick cut bacon (you could also use ham or both in recipe)

3 bouillon cubes or chicken stock 

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can full fat evaporated milk or use milk

water

4 slices American/Velveeta cheese (you can add more or leave out depending on taste)

Salt/Pepper/Tony's Creole Seasoning

Clean and remove stems from your fresh green beans.  You can substitute a bag of frozen or couple cans of green beans if you like but fresh beans taste best.  Snap them into small lengths.

Clean and cut your potatoes into similar sizes so they cook at the same rate.

I don't always use the cream of mushroom soup in this recipe but I wanted it to have a creamy consistence today.

Onions and Celery chopped up, I actually think I used less than a 1/2 cup of fresh celery.

So fry up your bacon until it is cooked the way you like.  I cook mine until its just about crisp.

I then add the celery and onions and cook it until its almost translucent. I may remove some bacon grease now depending on how much there is in the pan.  But the bacon grease adds flavor.  If its to dry you can add a dab of butter.

I throw in the beans next and stir everything together.  While the beans are cooking I cut up the potatoes.  Once they are chopped I throw them in.  I add just enough water to cover and the chicken bouillon cubes and simmer the soup.

Once the potatoes are soft and no longer need to boil I will add the cream of mushroom soup and evaporated milk.  (Sorry for the blurry photo, steam was coming of the pot and I moved my hand)

Now this step is totally optional but I added 4 slices of Velveeta Cheese to the soup for a little extra flavor.  Stir it in and let it cook on low for a few minutes until everything is blended.  You can add salt and pepper now to taste.  The bacon, bouillon cubes, soup and milk have sodium in it so now is the time to taste and adjust the flavorings.

Here it is completed.  It tastes so good.  Once I served myself a bowl I added some Tony's Creole Seasoning because I like my soup a little spicy.  

During the making of this soup I thought I may have to switch it to another pot because there was a lot of ingredients and a few times it almost bubbled over but I persevered.  There is nothing like eating hot soup, on a hot day, made with fresh ingredients.  There is so much of this soup I will be eating it for days unless my family stops by for some.

I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and that it turns out just as good for you.  The soup is on the thin side but if you like it thicker feel free to add a rue of flour/cornstarch and water to the soup while it is simmering.

Thanks for Stopping By!