Cheesy Potato Soup with Mini Ham Sandwiches

This seems like a perfect recipe for a day like today.  The weather forecast calls for day of drenching rain and this is a soup and sandwich pairing that is warm and comforting.  It comes together quick enough for a weeknight and tastes great.  The soup is creamy and cheesy, while still being low fat -- you can't get much better than that!  Definitely use small red potatoes in this dish; they are waxier and won't turn to mush in the soup.  


The mini ham sandwiches that pair with it are cute (who doesn't like a mini sandwich?!?) and tasty.  The chive mayo is the element that really takes them to the next level.  It's a simple step that adds a ton of flavor and makes them not just a typical-thrown-together-with-stuff-in-the-fridge-kind-of sandwich.  I didn't really make any changes to the recipe and the only thing I might change in the future is throwing in a bit of smoked paprika, both in the soup and in the mayo for the sandwiches.  I think it would give a nice smoky hit to both elements and tie them together a bit more. 

Cheesy Potato Soup with Mini Ham Sandwiches
from Cooking Light, January 2012
serves 4


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 cups chopped red potato (about 1 pound)
1 1/4 cups 1% milk
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon minced chives
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 slider rolls
4 ounces thinly sliced ham

Directions:

• Melt butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Sprinkle onion with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. 
• Add potato, milk and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. 
• While soup is simmering, start on the sandwiches.  Combine chives, mayo and dijon mustard.  Place the slider rolls, cut sides up, on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, until toasty and golden brown.  
• When the soup has finished simmering, add the shredded cheese and ground red pepper; cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. 
• Once the rolls come out of the ove, spread cut sides with the mayo mixture.  Divide ham even among rolls.
• Top each serving of soup with 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped green onions, serve.