Potato Soup (Todd's version)

4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 small carrot, sliced
5 cups water (more or less depending on how much "broth" you like)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
Rivvles (egg noodle bits, see below)

Put vegetables in a pot and cover with the water.  Bring to a boil and
cook covered until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes).  Add
salt and pepper.  Drop rivvles into the soup and continue boiling
uncovered for another 5 minutes.  Add butter and serve.  The rivvles
will cause the soup to thicken because of the flour clinging to them.

Potato Soup (Kathy's version)

4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 cups water
2 cups milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
Rivvles (see recipe below)

Put vegetables in a pot and cover with the water (just enough to cover
the vegetables).  Bring to a boil and cook covered until the potatoes
are tender (about 20 minutes).  Add the milk and bring to a boil (watch
for scorching). Add salt and pepper.  Drop rivvles into the soup and
continue boiling for another 5 minutes.  Add butter and serve with malt
vinegar.  The rivvles will cause the soup to thicken because of the
flour clinging to them.  This version usually thickens more than the
one without milk.

Rivvles 

1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 - 3/4 c. flour

Beat egg.  Add salt and stir in flour until you have a soft dough.
Break dough into bits and mix with flour to keep from sticking.  Some
people like to make a stiff dough (more flour) and grate it on a
shredder (tiny dumplings).  I often use the small bowl and blade of my
food processor.  This makes them a little too small for my taste, so I
mash them together a bit before adding a little more flour to keep the
chunks separate during cooking.

Comments:
 I once tried carrots in the milk version of the soup and didn't like
it at all.

 The noodles are optional.  

 If you don't mind the extra calories/fat/cholesterol, cream and/or
sour cream can be used in the milk version of the soup.