Soup's On

Tonight's recipe is for a creamy vegetable soup. I've made this several times with different variations to the recipe, but I love it because it is the first recipe I've done that has been improvising and just throwing in ingredients that I had lying around.

The main ingredients include:

• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 Vidalia onion, chopped
• Carrots, chopped
• 3 potatoes, chopped
• Milk
• Water
• Flour
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper as needed
• Chicken, chopped, or ground beef (optional)

It's a fairly simple list of ingredients. Since I've only just threw stuff in, I've never measured anything out. I've done it sans-meat, with ground beef, and, tonight, with chicken. Since this is basically some improvisation, don't expect scientific precision of the ingredients.

First off, if you decide to use meat, throw that in the pot first so it can start to cook. I put a cup or two of water in as well so that it didn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Since the pot cooks for a while, I've never really checked to make sure the meat was totally cooked, I figured it would finish cooking with the rest of the soup.

Once the meat has started to cook, chop up and throw in the pot, the celery, onion, and carrots. I used a handful of baby carrots since that is what I typically have on hand. If you use full size carrots, I would think 2 would be enough. The size of the pieces is completely up to you. Carrots I will slice down the middle, then cut into about 1/4 inch half slices. Celery and onion I just wing it and toss them in the pot. At this point, I will add enough milk to cover the vegetables and meat and begin cutting potatoes. Assuming a small or medium potato, I will cut it into quarters, then make slices about 1/4 inch thick. Those will all go in the pot.

After the potatoes are in, I will add some Worcestershire sauce, a bit of flour, and a little more milk or water. Make sure to mix the flour in well, otherwise it may get clumpy. At that point, I basically let it cook for a while. Times differ just because this recipe is not exact. Usually I cook it for about 20 to 30 minutes on low to medium heat. By the time it's done, it should be a little thicker because of the flour, but not too thick. If it becomes too thick, add a little water and stir until it's the thickness you want.

Once it's done, I'll add a bit of salt and pepper for taste. And that's pretty much it. With the amounts here, it will probably give about 2 quarts of soup.

If anyone makes it, let me know your thoughts or any improvements you make. I always like to know what I can do to improve my cooking, and nothing seems to work better than constructive criticism.