Creamy Potato Soup

I wish I had a photo that would give you the smell of this soup.  Creamy, thick, filling and satisfying.  It's what we had for dinner last night and what my husband had for lunch today.  He snagged the entire tub of leftovers - not that I blame him.

It's one of the quickest from-scratch soups ever.  Here's how to make it:

That's all you need for this soup.  Peeled diced potatoes, chicken broth, minced onion, seasoned salt and white pepper go in the pot:

Cover it and bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat to keep it from boiling over and cook until the potatoes are tender; about 40 minutes.  Then it's time to add the cream cheese.

Just cut it up a bit as you plop it in.  Then I hit it with my immersion blender.

If you don't have an immersion blender, a potato masher works very well.  Or you can use your blender or food processor.  Be careful while pureeing. If you overdo it, you'll get a gluey texture. Make it as pureed as you like; I keep a few chunks for texture. 

Serve with a salad and bread.  We didn't bother with either.  Just dove in.  Yum.

Creamy Potato Soup
Slightly adapted from Shawn H's recipe #150863 at Food.com

4 cups chicken broth
4 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese*, at room temperature
Optional toppings: crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, fresh chives/scallions

Place broth, potatoes, onion and spices in a large pot.
Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes are tender.
Mash potatoes to desired puree.

*Note: Normally I use reduced fat cream cheese, but full fat was what I had on hand. Both full-fat and reduced-fat cream cheese work well in this recipe; I don't recommend using fat-free. It has an odd non-melty quality.