Our ladies book club selection for fall, The Silent Gift by Michael Landon, Jr., and Cindy Kelley, was set in the 1930s. This Depression Era novel gave us a wealth of creative inspiration for planning our dinner. Sites like this one offer popular recipes from that era. (One of our members discovered in researching foods of the 1930s that Jiffy Cornbread was introduced in that time frame.) The novel's main characters spent some time in a soup kitchen, which inspired a simple soup supper for our meeting. I made pumpkin soup, and friend Sharon Lyle brought her delicious recipe for loaded potato soup.
Loaded Potato Soup
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups chopped potatoes
1 onion, chopped
16 ounces sour cream
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb. broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 jar Hormel bacon bits
2 cups Cheddar cheese
Pepper to taste
In large pot, boil chicken broth, onion and potatoes. Stir until potatoes are mashed. Add sour cream, cream of celery soup and cream of mushroom soup. Add broccoli and bacon bits. Stir in pepper and cheddar cheese.
