Creamy Potato Soup

Okay, wow... when I saw the date of my last post, I was quite surprised. How does time fly so fast without my realizing it? Well, there are no guarantees that I will do a lot of posting any time soon. But I do have another soup that I want to recall, since Ben raved and raved about it.

I suspect the reason that I post soup recipes is that I want to make them again without too much trouble. So it's helpful to write down what I tossed into the pot. Hopefully I can make this again without too much trouble, since I have no idea how much of the seasonings I added - oops!

8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1 large onion, diced (can be eliminated for migraine-sensitive people)
2 quarts chicken stock (homemade, if posible)
Sage
Savory
Thyme
Black Pepper
1 1/2 cups Bell Peppers, diced
1 cup corn
2 cups milk
Sharp Cheddar, shredded, for garnish
Green onions, chopped, for garnish

Chop potatoes, carrots, celery and onion (if using) and place in large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer until vegetables are tender, 20 - 30 minutes. Drain, but reserve cooking liquid.

Place chicken stock in the stock pot. Add peppers and corn. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.

Using the blender, puree small batches of cooked potatoes, carrots, celery, onion with some of the cooking liquid. Place each completed batch in the chicken stock.

Season with sage, savory, thyme and black pepper. Start with 1 tsp each of sage and thyme and 1/2 tsp of savory and black pepper, adding more to taste. [Do NOT salt, since potatoes absorb salt, and the soup will lose its saltiness, but make you very thirsty later.]

When seasoned to taste and hot, but not boiling, add 2 cups of milk and bring temp up again, careful not to boil. Remove from heat and serve immediately with shredded cheese and green onion for garnish.

Provide salt and pepper at the table.