Creamy Baked Potato Soup

I first made this soup in September after my husband has his wisdom teeth taken out. I had no plan other than I wanted to make a creamy potato soup that would be easy for him to eat with ingredients that I had on hand. We both ended up loving it so much, I decided I should make it again for blogging purposes. If you prefer your soup be chunky, use an immersion blender or a potato masher to get the soup to your desired consistency. I used beef stock because that’s what I had on hand, but any broth or stock would work well here. I recommend using a low sodium variety as stocks and broths can pack a lot of sodium. This is also why I don’t season the soup with salt and pepper until after blending. Some stocks will be really salty and you may not even need to add any additional salt. I didn’t have any bacon on hand, but highly recommend frying up a few slices and crumbling it on top of this soup. This recipe makes a generous amount, but does not freeze well so feel free to half this recipe is you desire. Serve garnished with Greek yogurt or sour cream, thinly sliced green onion, hot sauce and crumbled bacon.

What You Need:

 

5 cups stock or broth
2 cups milk, room temperature (I used whole milk)
3 lbs russet potatoes, washed and cut into small pieces (about 5 medium)
1 large brown onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
8 cloves garlic (or to taste), minced
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 ½ tsp kosher salt, divided
1 ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, divided
Optional Garnishes: Greek yogurt or sour cream, thinly sliced green onion, hot sauce and crumbled bacon.

What To Do:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the onion and carrot, season with ½ tsp salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic during the last minute of cooking.

Create a well in the center of the vegetables and melt butter.

Once butter is melted add the flour and cook over medium heat stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Slowly add stock or broth stirring constantly, scraping browned bits off the bottom.

Once all of the broth has been incorporated, throw the potato in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until mostly tender.

Add milk and return to simmer. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

In batches, puree the soup until smooth. Taste and see if you need more salt and pepper. I added 1 tsp of salt and pepper.  Top with garnishes and serve immediately with a garden salad.
















Yields 13 ½ - 1 cup servings



Bon Appétit!
Mary



**Behind the Scenes:  Had to share a picture of my cat/ fur-child trying to help me blog about this recipe :)**

Turkey Lentil Stew

This hearty Crockpot stew recipe came to me as I walked by the roasted chickens at the market. You’re thinking… ‘chicken… I thought you said TURKEY lentil stew… ?’. You’re correct! I glanced at all the roasted chickens and spotted some turkey breasts sitting toward the back of the shelf. For dinner tonight, I had originally planned to make a vegetable lentil stew, but now knew that I needed to try to incorporate some roasted turkey breast with the idea that I would use this recipe after Thanksgiving with the leftovers. I use bay leaves here, but if you don’t have any I think it would still taste fabulous. I highly recommend buying a package as they last a very long time in your pantry in a sealed container. Look for the plastic packages versus the bottled kind as you can save quite a bit of money. This stew freezes nicely. Take it out of the freezer the night before and by the next night you’ll have dinner waiting and ready to be heated in the microwave. This recipe does make a generous amount so if you desire, half it.  If you don't have a Crockpot, see the cook's note at the bottom.  Serve with warm bread, a little green onion and here at our house… we like ours with a bunch of hot sauce!

What You Need:

2 cups green lentils, rinsed and picked through
4 cups roasted and shredded turkey breast (or chicken)
1 – 32 oz box chicken or turkey stock (or broth if unavailable)
1 medium to large brown onion, diced
4 carrots, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
1 – 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large russet potato, diced (about 4 cups)
6 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
2 bay leaves (optional)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a large Crockpot and set to low for 6 hours. Stir after 3 hours if possible. Serve with freshly baked bread.












This stew serves a crowd.



Bon Appétit!
Mary



**Cook’s Note: If you don’t have a Crockpot… Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a large heavy bottomed soup pot. Sauté vegetables (except garlic & potato), bay leaves (if using), salt and pepper for about 8-10 minutes over medium/high heat. Once vegetables have softened, add the tomatoes, potato and stock. Simmer over low heat with the lid on until lentils are tender, about 30-40 minutes or until desired consistency.**