Wisconsin Cheese and Potato Soup

A friend of ours made this for us when we found out we would be moving to Wisconsin. We all fell in love with it! It is on our regular meal rotation now and we always look forward to when we get to eat it. :) It is perfect on a beautiful, snowy, winter day like today.

1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 T butter
4 cups diced peeled potatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
Dash paprika
2 cups shredded cheddar
Chopped fresh parsley
Croutons

In a large saucepan, sauté celery and onion in butter until tender. Add potatoes and broth. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, 12-15 minutes. Smash potatoes with a potato masher (The original recipe said to let potatoes cool and to puree in a blender or a food processor. We like to have some potato chunks in ours so I like to make it this quicker way instead). Stir in milk and seasonings. Add the cheese and heat just until melted. Garnish with croutons and parsley.