Spicy Potato Soup

Well after a few very busy weekends and exhausting my supply of "lunch" soups from the freezer, I am back to making soup for lunches! My mom gave me this recipe a few weeks ago with a good recommendation so I put it on the top of my list. I had almost all of the ingredients hanging out in my freezer too so it was perfect timing!

This soup is very tasty and filling, along with a wonderful aroma that made everyone in the lunch room jealous! As per my mom's suggestion, I used frozen hash browns instead of regular potatoes - makes for a lot less work. She also suggested additions of peas and/or some orzo at the end of the cooking time if you wanted to get some green veggies or even more carbs in there!

Note: If you are having trouble draining your ground beef out of the deep sauce pan, use a baster to get all the fat out of there! This makes a very generous 6 servings - I even got Chuck to take some into work and he loved it!

Spicy Potato Soup
from Taste of Home
Makes 6 servings

1 pound ground beef
4 cups cubed peeled potatoes (1/2-in cubes) (or 4 cups hash browns, defrosted)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

In a Dutch oven or large kettle, brown ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

Add the potatoes, onion and tomato sauce. Stir in the water, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired.