Green Bean Soup

as The Barefoot Contessa would say: "Be sure to use GOOD chicken stock"!!! If you are not using your own home made stock, this soup will be only as taste(less) as the stock. I did change a few things: dried thyme and a pinch of dried sage, plus s&p; I used 5 Tbl of Wondra instead of flour; and I added the potatoes (about 1/2 #) after I added the stock. Let that all come to a boil and simmer until the potatoes were soft enough to use an immersion blender for just a couple minutes, then added the beans (leftover from 2019 summer harvest). Added a few drops of sherry vinegar to each serving, and just used the bacon for toppings. Added a little bit of Tabasco at the table. I have been looking for ways to use up those beans, and this was a very good choice, but as always, only as good as the ingredients you use.

First off, I enjoyed making this recipe. I do not use canned soups in cooking or eat them like when I was growing up. I won’t even go into the reasons, as there are several, but I think this soup is an excellent replacement - - before addding the green beans and potatoes- for cream of mushroom soup. I had to use a mixture of similar mushrooms because that was all that was available to me and I hope that doesn’t take away too much. The seasonings were very light so salt and pepper were definitely added in my pot as well as to each serving. The texture was a bit thick to my liking and I even added additional stock to aid in the boiling process after adding the potatoes. I felt that the bacon garnish was a great flavor enhancer but I would have liked to see the soup stand on its own a bit more. I generally love toppings but the toppings in this case were too heavily relied on for the overall flavor. Again, fun to make, but won’t be making this one again.