A Little of This, A Little of That

 

This just warms my heart:)
Take note of the book, she
must've scammed it while
I wasn't looking!!

Today's Family Day so we're having a nice, quiet, well, Family Day.  I make up meal plans every week, sometimes I'll do two weeks at a time, which is what I did last time so I've known for awhile that I was going to make up some Baked Potato Soup for dinner tonight.  You would think that knowing grocery stores were going to be closed today that I would do a quick double check to make sure I had everything I needed, I didn't, so of course I was caught today a little bit unprepared.  No worries though, instead of throwing my hands in the air, having a hissy fit and deciding on something else, I'm going to make do with the little of this and little of that, that I do have, oh, and send Aaron to pick up a couple things at a variety store.  

(Confession, I used up my sour cream last night to make chip dip for
our Sons of Anarchy session, and, since he was already going, I didn't want
to thaw out a pound of bacon so I had him grab that too.) 

My Saving Grace:)

My biggest challenge for making my soup today was the fact that my green onions have seen much better days and are, how shall I say it, unedible.  Usually that wouldn't be a big deal, but for Baked Potato Soup they're a neccessity in my opinion. Of course, they're also something I can't just go and pick up at the variety store, I'm going to have to have a talk with them about that...lol.  Usually, one of my go to things in a situation like this would be my Epicure 3 Onion Dip Mix but I don't want to use up everything that I have on hand, however, I thought to myself, why not add some to give it a little more zip and use something else as well.  Here's where something I bought awhile ago to try out but haven't yet done so comes into play...shallots.  I did a quick research session online and found that they would probably be my best bet and hopefully I'm right.  We'll see, I've been known to be mistaken before, never wrong, just mistaken:)

Baked Potato Soup

5-6 Baking Potatoes, I just used Yukon Golds, if they're big, stick to 5
2 c. Water
1 Litre Milk
3-4 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped
1/4 c. Unsalted Butter
1/2 c. Sour Cream, plus extra for garnish
6-7 slices Bacon, cooked & crumbled, plus some extra for garnish
1 Shallot, finely diced (I usually use 3-4 Green Onions)
1 1/2 c. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded, plus some extra for garnish
1-2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
2 Tsp Epicure's 3 Onion Dip Mix
Salt & Peppper to taste
Chives for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350F.  Wrap potatoes in foil and bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours.  While potatoes are baking, get the rest of your ingredients ready.  Remove potatoes when done and set aside to cool. 

Ready to Go In the Oven

Mmmm...cooked bacon

Place bacon on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet and place in oven to cook for about 15-20 minutes.  Once done, remove from baking sheet and place on paper towels to sop up the extra grease.

(Obviously I'm not going to use all the bacon pictured in the soup, but I figured I'd do up the whole pound and cut it all up and freeze the rest to use as bacon bits when I need them)


Once cooled, slice the potatoes in half  and scoop out the middle.  Be careful, chances are the insides are still pretty hot, you're going to be playing a little bit of hot potato.

As a Carbaholic, this pic makes my day!!

Add the water to a large stockpot and heat over medium heat.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the celery and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add butter and celery to the stockpot.

Cheese make everything better too!!

 

Can you tell I love bacon:)

 Stir in the milk, sour cream, cut up bacon, shallots/green onions, shredded cheese, parsley, 3 Onion Dip Mix, salt and pepper.

Reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I've been known to mash
up the bigger pieces of
potato a little bit. It's a
personal preference.

When you're ready to serve it up, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a dollap of sour cream, some shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and top it off with some chives. 

That's a Meal:)

I made sure to have the soup done before Aaron had to leave for work today...I anxiously waited for him to sit down and hoped beyond all hope that he was going to leave for work with a full stomach of soup that he enjoyed eating, not just choked down to be nice.  As he sat down and picked up his spoon I held my breath.  I almost couldn't watch as he took his first bite and then I heard him say..."Wow Babe, this isn't your best attempt."  Nah, I'm just joking with you, he liked it:)