Hearty Mushroom and Potato Soup

In an effort to go one more day without going to the grocery store, I attempted to create a meal with what we had on hand: a bag of potatoes, some mushrooms from the food locker, and carrots.  A soup perhaps?  I looked at a few recipes online, but couldn't find anything that used the ingredients I had on hand.  Time to create?  

I started by sauteing some mushrooms.  Then I sauteed some potatoes in butter as well with a little chicken stock to simmer them.  I made the chicken stock with those cubes and water.  I added two cups at first.

This created a fabulous aroma in my house and led me to decide that I wanted a thick base for my soup so I threw everything into my food processor.  

Hummm.... much too thick.  Tasted like delicious mash potatoes though.  (Note to self, sauteed mushrooms make a great addition to mashed potatoes)  Time to whip up some more broth.

Perhaps a glass of delicious wine would help the creative process as well.

This Rose was a Christmas gift from our neighbors.  So two more cups of chicken broth and my soup base was the right consistency.

I put it in a big pot and got to work on the rest of my soup.  A great base is good, but who wants soup without something yummy in it?

I sauteed up some chopped carrots, potatoes, and more mushrooms.  I added some more chicken broth and let them simmer until tender.

Then I added it to my soup and served it with more wine and sourdough bread.  AMAZING!  Husband and two year old gave me the "mmmmm" rating.  Score!  One more day of not visiting the store for me :)

The Recipe (in ish terms):

5 cups chicken broth (made with cubes and water)
9 potatoes
5 carrots
2 cups of mushrooms 
2 cups of milk
3 teaspoons floor
butter (half a stick or so)
garlic salt and pepper (to taste)

Saute mushrooms and potatoes in butter until they start to stick.  Slowly add up to 3 cups of chicken broth to keep the mixture from sticking.  Once everything is tender, blend in a food processor.  Put mixture into large soup pot.  Saute carrots, potatoes, and chopped mushrooms again in saute pan.  Add more chicken broth to get everything tender.  Add to soup.  Combine milk and floor and add to soup.  Cook until hot and blended.  Add garlic salt and pepper.  Enjoy