Baked Potato Soup

While we continue to be "iced in" the house, I was looking for a good hearty recipe for dinner. I really wanted Chicken and Dumplings, but didn't have all of the ingredients. So, I opted to make a baked potato soup. Rather than searching for recipes, I just sort of winged it to see what I came up with.

The recipe I made, was a lot of soup- especially since only my husband and I ate it for the most part. So, I would probably half the recipe next time which would be plenty. Since we had so much leftover, I heated some up for lunch the next day. If you want to eat the leftovers, be aware that you will probably want to heat it on the stove and add some liquid (milk or broth) to thin it out to a good consistency. While it was still good the next day, I wouldn't say it was as good as freshly made- which is another reason I would just make half next time! But all in all, I would say that this was a good soup and came together very quickly. This would be especially good to make if you had some leftover baked potatoes lying around.

I really wanted to make these French Bread Rolls to go with it, but *thought* I was out of bread flour. That will teach me not to look a little better next time as these rolls would have been fabulous with the soup!



Ingredients

4 baking potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 green onions, chopped
6 strips bacon cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large pan. Stir in the flour and whisk until smooth.

Slowly add the milk and continue stirring until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Add the cooked potatoes and onions and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the cheese, sour cream, bacon and salt and pepper. Continue stirring until the cheese is melted. Garnish with bacon, cheese and sour cream. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I wanted something good to accompany the Grilled Chipotle Chicken and these creamy mashed potatoes were calling my name! If you are looking for a healthy mashed potato recipe, please close your browser immediately and erase this post from your memory. If however, you are looking for a creamy, comforting, "anything but low fat" mashed potato, go ahead and pull up a fork!

This is what I compiled from looking at many recipes for mashed potatoes. These potatoes were incredibly creamy and had a good taste. However, I don't think they would be my "everyday" kind of mashed potato. But for those times I want some rich and creamy potatoes, this will be my go to recipe.

Ingredients (8 servings)

3 lbs Russet potatoes

3/4 cup butter

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

Peel and cut the potatoes into uniform pieces. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add potatoes.

Bring to a boil and cook for 30-35 minutes. The potatoes are done when they are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot on the stove.

Mash the potatoes over low heat.

Turn off the stove and add the butter, cream cheese, half and half, salt and pepper. Continue mashing potatoes.

After mashing, stir well and transfer to a baking dish. Slice a few pieces of butter over the top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until warmed through.

ENJOY!

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Candied sweet potatoes are one of those dishes I really only think of around the holidays. I'm not sure why though because I really do like sweet potatoes. Oh yeah- just remembered that I'm the only one that likes them in this house! Well, my daughter would probably like them too, so I'll have to search out some more recipes for us girls!

This is a super simple recipe that can be made with fresh sweet potatoes (as shown below) or a large (18oz) can of sweet potatoes.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
3 medium sweet potatoes (around a pound) OR one 18 oz can sweet potatoes, drained
3 tbsp brown sugar (I use light)
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Put potatoes in pan and cover with water. Boil potatoes for 25-35 minutes until tender. Drain; cool slightly. If using canned sweet potatoes, drain and cut into smaller pieces.

2. In a casserole dish, layer half of the potatoes, half of the brown sugar and half of the butter. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until glazed. You can spoon liquid over potatoes a couple of times during cooking. I am not a fan of nuts or marshmallows on my sweet potatoes, but if you are, you can add them now!

(before baking)

(completed dish)

ENJOY!