One of our favorite winter meals...

This is one of the few meals that passes muster with every single person in our family...

Potato Soup

6 cups water
6 chicken bouillon cubes
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots (or one sweet potato), cubed
1 Tbs. parsley
3 cloves garlic, pressed

Saute onion and garlic in 1 Tbs. oil for 2 minutes. Then combine with the remainder of above ingredients and simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Keeping the heat at low, add:
2 cups half & half (I usually use milk, since I rarely have half and half around)

Make a roux with:
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour (I often use whole wheat flour)

Spoon some of the hot liquid from the vegetable/cream mixture and mix slowly with the roux until it thickens and is smooth. Add roux to soup while stirring quickly. Heat for another 2 minutes. Serve hot inside of bread bowls. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

Bread Bowls

1 Tbs. yeast
1-1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
4-5 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Combine in one large bowl the remainder of the water, sugar, salt, and yeast mixture. Add just enough flour until dough is stiff enough to handle. Knead well (in Kitchen-Aid of course). Cover and let rise for 1 hour (I'm usually in too big of a hurry, so I skip this step).

Then divide dough into 6-8 sections and form into round shape. Place on greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and allow to rise about 1/2 hour. Before baking, generously brush each bread bowl with an egg white mixed with 1 Tbs. warm water. Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or until golden.

When they are finished baking, cut a shape off the top of each one (making a lid). Then scoop out the soft part with a spoon reserving it for dipping in the soup if desired.

Enjoy!