I originally posted this on my Tea and Thee blog, but I'm transferring the food recipes from there to here.  This is a delicious soup, one of our favorites, great for a cold day.  Enjoy!

Potato-Cheese Soup

     Cube 5 or 6 potatoes (skins on or off as you prefer), cover with water just so it barely covers them, add 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic, and an 8-oz. can of tomato sauce.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

     Remove from heat and puree in batches in blender with enough milk to process.  (You can also just hand-mash them in the pan with a more lumpy result.  I actually use a Braun handheld blender right in the pan.)  Return to a low heat, add more milk to desired thickness, and reheat.  Add 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, stirring constantly until melted, and add more salt to taste if necessary.  Serve with crackers or whole-grain bread and a green salad.

     Note:  I have adapted this to a main-dish soup by adding browned hamburger or sausage and green chilies.

     A super-healthy thing you can do for your family is to make your own homemade broth--not the anemic, expensive kind in a can from the grocery store!  After you make your own, you'll be spoiled forever.  It serves as the base for soups, sauces, and gravies, and adds wonderful flavor to cooking rice and other grains.  It's loaded with nutrients and enzymes that boost your health and strengthens your bones and connective tissues.  Give it a try!

Homemade Chicken or Beef Broth

For chicken broth:  You can either just cook up chicken pieces that you need for the meat, or use the unappealing pieces:  backs, wings, neck, etc.  Cover with filtered water in a large pot or crockpot (I usually make at least two or three quarts at a time--the more pieces, the richer the broth).

     Add 1/4th of an onion, some celery tops, 2 or 3 peppercorns, and 2-3 tsp. of apple cider vinegar (this helps to draw the minerals out of the bones).  Simmer for several hours, covered.  Add salt to taste.  Strain the broth and chill.  The next day, remove the fat layer, spoon into freezer containers and freeze.

     Instead of raw chicken parts, I will cook up the whole carcass leftover from a rotisserie chicken from Costco.  They are pre-seasoned and make up a delicious broth, also.

For beef broth:  You can follow the same process and ingredients above, but substitute some meaty beef bones (ones with marrow are best) or leftover bones from a roast.  You can also roast your own in the oven first, (400 degrees for 20 minutes or until nice and brown, turning halfway through).  This adds a much richer flavor than just using uncooked bones.

     It's been my experience that beef broth takes longer to cook--I'd suggest all day.  It also doesn't have the lovely brown look of what you buy in the store, but it's better for you!  You'll have to experiment to see how much meat makes the kind of broth you like.