Happy New Year everyone. Yes, I've been away for a while, I sure miss posting to my little blog and thank you for letting me know I was missed. I'll be catching up with everything as we go along, but for now, I want to wish you all a great new year and start you off with a great soup to help keep you warm this winter.
This recipe was shared with me when I lived in Yuma, AZ, probably 25 to 30 years ago by a Yuma Fireman. It was a firehouse staple, and I felt privileged that it was shared with me, and now I'm sharing it with you. It's basically a potato soup recipe that bears the name of the deceased firefighter that created it, Joe Frila. I was never given any amounts, just ingredients and the rest I figured out myself.
Now I'm going to make a short story long, as I'm apt to do from time to time. I have been making the soup for many years and it has become a family favorite, especially when we would go camping in the mountains. One such trip, as I was getting ready to make the soup for 30 + people, I discovered I forgot to pack the potato masher and no one among our group had one either. So I went like a little beggar girl to the neighboring campsites hoping someone would have one (I can make a pretty pitiful looking face when needed ;-)
thankfully the campsite across the road from us had one that they would happily loan me. They asked me what I was going to make, I told them Frila and it's a soup I learned from Yuma fireman and it's named after the fireman Joe Frila etc...come to find out, I was talking to his family members, insert <what a small world> here. They asked if they could try some when I was done...like yes...of course you can. They were very complimentary and told me I was spot and and did him proud. YES!!!!!
I think you and your family will like it as much as we do.

I topped it with a bit of diced green chili and a little more cheese.
Let's make some soup