Leftover Mashed Potato Soup

Such a perfect way to use up an leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving. It is so good that you will want to make mashed potatoes just so you can make this soup!

Serves 4

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, brought to room temperature or microwaved for a minute to take the chill off (if you have any whole potatoes leftover, you can chop up a few and add along with the potatoes to make the soup chunkier)

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

32 oz chicken broth

2 tbs flour

1/4 c milk

1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, defrosted

1 tbs chives, plus more for garnish (I like the freeze dried chives you can find in your produce section, since I don't use chives often)

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium sized pot, heat a little olive oil over medium high heat and add onion. Once onion begins to soften add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and mix together milk and flour until it is smooth (mixture should be thick, think cake batter, but not lumpy, use a whisk and add more flour or milk if needed) and whisk into broth and potato mixture. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli and chives once soup has thickened. Serve with bacon, cheese, and extra chives.