Fresh Green Bean and Potato Soup

We've been picking some nice green beans lately and seeing good ones at the farmer's market, too, so I thought it was time to share this recipe. My mom makes this great soup with them that's fresh tasting and not too heavy for summer.... She uses "real" potatoes and boils them until they fall apart, but I've come up with a much quicker & easier version using instant potato flakes! I've made it a couple of times, and DH & I both really like it. You must use fresh green beans for this, however -- no shortcuts using canned ones, and even good quality frozen ones are not nearly the same. It's a summer soup!

I put in a generous handful (probably 1/4 cup) of potato flakes for every cup of chicken stock, then add a good number of trimmed green beans, a little black pepper, and maybe a couple dashes of hot sauce. The potato flakes will thicken the broth, but don't put in so many that you make mashed potato stew... you don't want the potato broth to mound up in a heap on your spoon. I make easy dumplings by beating a large egg, adding a big handful of grated parmesan and a bit of garlic powder, then adding enough flour (about 1/4 cup, maybe a little less depending on the size of your egg) to make a stiff but still sticky dough. Don't overbeat the dumpling dough, or they won't be tender. When the beans are about halfway cooked, drop in the dumplings, and simmer another couple of minutes.

I would say for a quart of fresh green beans, I use about 4 cups of chicken stock and about a cup of Idahoan instant potato flakes, 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper, 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne (or a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce), optional.