We’ve been socked in by a deep freeze. It’s – 3 outside right now. And last night I wanted to cozy up to some hot, hearty soup.
I started out with one cheese soup recipe, and ended making so many changes to it based on the ingredients I had on hand, that it turned in to a whole new dish.
Here’s what I ended up with:
Cheesy Potato Soup Recipe
1/4 C. butter or margarine
1/4 C. plus 2 TSP of flour
2 10 3/4 ounce cans plus one 1/4 C. of chicken broth
2 C. milk
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 TBS horseradish from a jar
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 medium potatoes
Peel and cut up potatoes in to chunks. Boil until fork tender. In a heavy bottomed pot melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool one minute. Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Return to burner over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish. Add boiled and drained potatoes. Stir frequently until heated through. Take off heat and add cheese. Stir until melted. Serve immediately.
This turned out creamy, tangy and delicious. It was filling and just the thing to warm me up on a frosty night. I served it with biscuits to mop up all that yummy cheese left in the bottom of the soup bowl.
I had to be out yesterday morning and afternoon, with just a couple hours in between at home to figure out what we were going to have dinner. Dinner that I didn’t have time to make. So I found this crock-pot recipe for Egg and Broccoli Casserole. It was simple, and the cooking time was exactly the same amount of time between my leaving again and all of use arriving home to eat, so it was a perfect fit.
Egg and Broccoli Casserole Recipe
24 oz. carton cottage cheese
10 oz. package frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 tsp finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
extra shredded cheese
Combine first eight ingredients. Pour into greased slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Cook on low 2 1/2 to three hours more until eggs are set.
Sprinkle with extra cheese and serve.
I thought this turned out really well. It was good, and even though it was meatless, the eggs and cheese still packed some hefty protein. (Low fat? Probably not.) And it covered up the broccoli enough that my husband ate it. He will not eat broccoli that hasn’t been completely obliterated by some sort of sauce or cheese. Next time I might try throwing in some chunks of ham or bacon crumbles just to make it a bit more hearty. (My husband also thinks it’s not dinner with out meat.) This would be great for breakfast as well. Like quiche without the crust.
02/04/08
I wanted soup tonight because everyone in our home is in some stage of suffering from a cold. Nothing’s more comforting than a steaming, hot bowl of soup when you’re under-the-weather. Halfway through the cooking process I found myself wishing I’d just bought a can of Campbell’s Chicken Soup. There are what seemed like a million little steps on the way to the end result. I’m sure some of my weariness was in part because of my cold. However, once I got a spoonful in my mouth, I realized it was well worth the time and effort.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
8 oz. bacon chopped
3 pounds russet potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs of all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
5 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
pepper
3 scallions, sliced thin
Cook bacon in a Dutch Oven over medium heat until browned. While bacon is cooking, peel potatoes with a veggie peeler to remove wide, long strips of potato skin. Reserve the peel. Cut potatoes into 3/4 inch chunks. With a slotted spoon transfer browned bacon to a plate covered in paper towel. Add reserved potato skins to bacon fat, and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes. Use the slotted spoon to transfer to plate with bacon.
Add onion to remaining fat and cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and flour, cook about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and cream. Add potatoes and thyme sprig. Bring to boil on high heat, then reduce to medium. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 7 minutes.
Remove and discard thyme. With the slotted spoon transfer two cups of potatoes to a bowl and reserve. In batches, puree the remaining soup in a blender or food processor. Return soup to pot and rewarm over medium-high heat. Off the heat, add 4 cups of cheese and stir until melted. Then whisk in 1 cup of sour cream. Return reserved potatoes to pot. Season soup with pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish the top of each bowl of soup with bacon, fried potato skins, scallions and remaining cheese and sour cream.
It took about an hour and 15 minutes to prepare this from chopping the bacon to getting the soup into the bowls and garnished. This makes at least 8 servings. We had a lot left over. The bacon and scallions didn’t go that far. To garnish all 8 servings, I’d double the amount of those two items. It was delicious, so you’ll also want to have plenty to garnish leftovers through out the week.
This recipe come from Cook’s Country Magazine.
