Cream of Browned Potato and Oatmeal Soup

Submitted by Kimberlys Surprise

"This recipe came about this morning when I messed up in making the morning oatmeal and it was not good enough to eat, and was too much to waste. (The oatmeal was gloppy, and we like it flaky). We always mix a couple of tablespoons of flax seed in with our oatmeal. If it had been bread-baking day, I would have hidden it in the bread. This recipe is mine: I made it up."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 10-12

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (olive oil is what I used)
• 5 cups chopped potatoes, red and yellow
• 1 small onion, diced (optional)
• 2 cups cooked oatmeal
• water, to cover
• salt and pepper, season to taste

• White sauce (you can omit for vegan or lactose-free variation)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Remember, oatmeal is a grain, and like barley, makes a good soup ingredient.
2. I am a "dump cook" (I seldom measure, especially for soups) so these are approximates. Soups are not an exact science necessarily, so just use good sense (i.e. if you need more water, add it, if you like more potatoes, add them).
3. Brown the potatoes and onion together in the oil, like you are making hash browns (I use a cast iron skillet).
4. Place the browned potatoes and onions in a large soup pot, cover with ample water (about two inches above the potato mixture. Set to boil. While the soup is heating up, mix in the cooked oatmeal (about 2 cups). Make sure to break up any of the globs of oatmeal to make the mixture creamy.
5. Over medium heat: Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Using a wire whisk, mix in the flour, then add one cup of milk. Cook and mix until thickened, then add to the soup.
6. Let the soup cook on medium-low heat until done, about 15 to 20 minutes.
7. You can leave this soup on simmer all day if you like, just add water or milk as it cooks down, to make sure it doesn't scorch.
8. Vegan or Lactose-free Variation: Omit the white sauce (the soup is creamy enough without it).
9. Variations: If you would like more vegetables, add chopped celery and grated carrots to the mixture when browning the potatoes.
10. Garnish each bowl of soup with grated cheese, bacon bits, or chives (optional).
11. _______.
12. All of my grandchildren, 12, 8, and 6 liked this soup, as did my 31-year old vegan son and his friend, and my 82-year-old father.

Reviews

[rajin]

Great recipe. I tried the vegan version as my roommate is vegan although I'd like to try it with milk & butter even though my taste buds are telling me it might be too rich for me. The soup was already plenty creamy from the oatmeal. Only eat one bowl of soup and wait! The oatmeal has a sneaking effect on filling you up. <br/><br/>My take is slightly different as we often eat oatmeal for breakfast, I wanted something spicy, sweet & salty all at the same time. <br/><br/>My rift: 1) Make vegetable stock from boiling down the tops & skins of the carrots (two whole carrots) and the entire outer layer of the onion as well as any undesirables for my potato skins. <br/>2) After the stock boiled down I chopped up all three and put them in a pan with olive oil. I put Cinnamon sticks in.<br/>3)I threw in all of the vegetables at once and browned them. Probably took about 10-15 minutes.Here I added more cinnamon, cayenne pepper & couple teaspoons of brown sugar.<br/>4)Threw the vegetables in a pot and first filled it with the vegetable stock and then water to finish off. As you can see, my poor little pot was almost overflowing.<br/>5)Added Cayennne pepper, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, salt & seasoned to taste.<br/><br/>Easy soup which is creamy & hearty at the same time. Definitely worth a shot.