Being a full-time, working, homeschooling mom to three daughters means that some days it’s just way easier to grab lunch at a fast food restaurant. Yes, there are those lovely days that I come home and make sandwiches, pack them for my family, then return gracefully to the music store just in time for lunch. But, then there are the busy days when I ignore my mommy guilt and just drive through for the box of nuggets!
Sometimes my girls do not agree on the chosen lunch options on these fast food days. Out of the three girls, you can almost be guaranteed that one will have an objection about the restaurant I am grabbing lunch from. However, there is one place I can count on to please everyone at lunch time. Schlotzsky’s. My middle daughter is particularly fond of their potato soup. It’s not surprising, really, since she’s our “carbs girl.” If I’d let her, that girl would live off of French bread, mac & cheese, Ramen noodles, and mashed potatoes!
Knowing how much she loves Schlotzsky’s potato soup, I decided I would try my best to replicate it. Of course she was thrilled when she learned that potato soup was what I would be making for dinner! When I was just about finished cooking the soup, I let her have a taste to see if it was good. She very carefully took a sip so as not to burn her mouth. Then, she hesitated and sweetly said, “Hmmm… it doesn’t taste quite the same as Schlotzsky’s.” 🙁 So I replied, “Oh. Okay, well, what do you think it needs?” (I later realized this was a good mom choice on my part, because it gave my daughter ownership to the soup.) So, she suggested more salt and a little cream. And, I think it did improve the taste. Yay!! The best part of the story though, is that my daughter was happy and thought it tasted like her favorite soup in the world! Just to let you know though, this is NOT a copycat recipe. It doesn’t taste exactly like Schlotzsky’s soup. But, it’s close enough for a nine year old girl 🙂
Here is the recipe for my potato soup that made my little girl so happy.
Ingredients
- 10 red potatoes
- 4 gloves garlic
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 8 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 TB. sour cream
- 1 tsp. ground pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground rosemary
- 4 strips bacon
- 1/2 tsp. onion salt or powder
Instructions
- Chop potatoes and mince garlic.
- Heat butter and garlic on high heat for 2 minutes in a medium size stew pot.
- Add potatoes and 8 cups of water, boil uncovered for 20 minutes on high heat.
- While potatoes are boiling, cook 4 strips of bacon in a skillet.
- When potatoes are tender, mash them to desired consistency. (don't drain water)
- Reduce to medium low heat and add cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, onion salt, rosemary, cream and milk.
- Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat until soup thickens.
- Serve with shredded cheese and bacon crumbles.