Potato Soup (with crawfish and corn)

With all the cold weather this week, any kind of soup was just what one needed to warm up.  This is a great potato soup recipe and will be my 'go to' potato soup recipe from now on.  As much as I like shrimp, I did not care for the shrimp.  Next time, I plan to use frozen crawfish and corn per a chowder recipe in my stash that is very tasty.  Serve with cornbread.

*I cooked this using shrimp but have changed the recipe below by adding crawfish and corn.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 stick butter
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 medium carrots, diced about the same size as the onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (if adding crawfish, may need more)
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups milk, whole, reduced fat (2 percent) or low fat (1 percent)
2 bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot milk
1 cup half-and-half  (used fat free)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups salted water
1 pound package of frozen crawfish, thawed
2 cups frozen corn
Crumbled bacon bits, for garnish
Grated sharp Cheddar, for garnish
green onion tops, for garnish
sour cream, optional

DIRECTIONS:
In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrots until veggies are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, milk, bay leaves and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes.  Add thawed crawfish and corn; simmer, stirring often until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to dissolve into mush. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper.

 Serve soup sprinkled with bacon bits, onion tops and grated cheese.

Paula Deen:  Potato Soup with Shrimp