Monday, August 18, 2014

Baked Potato Soup

Hi Everyone! I'm back again with a (not so exciting) new post...which you're probably asking "what's with the Baked Potato soup?" After all these weeks of absence, you would think I would come back with some exquisite, and amazing food to show off....hey, but just look at the gorgeous 'hand stitched' Italian table cloth (never used), the antique silver plated soup spoon, and the Italian napkin...all these things handed down to my daughter from her sweet M-in-law from Italy...except for the soup spoon which an entire set inherited from my Hungarian aunt (Mariska)

This is truly an amazing comforting soup...'for the soul'...just look at the crispy yummy bacon bits, and the chunky pieces of 2 boiled potatoes, which was an addition to the homemade vegetable broth that it was boiled in, and added 2 peeled leftover baked potatoes...all mixed together in the blender, heated up and added 1/2 cup sour cream at the end. You can substitute Greek yogurt instead! Creamy soups are so easy to make...all you need is a blender, food processor, or even a 'hand held immersion blender/mixer) and your creativity!

I missed so much opportunity to be posting so many different foods that I actually made in the last weeks that just flew by...not photographing anything...could also have had the chance to do a few Restaurant Reviews...(no photos)...well, could've...would've...should've...all have gone by, not focusing on it. I admit, I do regret procrastinating, and feeling 'down in the dumps' (no excuse)...can't take everything to 'heart' that we have no control over!
As you know, I'm a huge Pinterest fan...love, love, finding some awesome things on Pinterest...especially foods, fashion, home décor, and travel...my oh, my...the amazing places we could go to...just have the $$$!
Well, as you may, or may not know, but I have a board on Pinterest called #soup love where I found this most gorgeous and yummy Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup and decided that I want to make it, just did not have 6 slices of bacon...only 3~ I did not follow their recipe all the way thru...so I made it my own...next time I will follow through the step-by-step recipe. When you see a photo on Pinterest, just click on the photo and it will lead you to the 'source' and most likely you will find the recipe, or the 'link' that it came from. In this case, I did find the source; which is called...
Tasty Kitchen...you will find the step-by-step recipe for this amazing soup!
Here's the recipe and my adaptation in blue:

Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

  • 4 whole Extra Large Baked Potatoes Or 8 Regular Baked Potatoes (I used 2 med. leftover baked potatoes and 2 med. peeled, and diced potatoes boiled in 2 cups of 'homemade veg. broth)
  • 6 slices Bacon, Diced (I used 3 slices of bacon)
  • 6 Tablespoons Butter (no butter used)
  • ½ whole Onion, Chopped (1 med. onion chopped)
  • 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • ⅓ cups All-purpose Flour (2 Tbsp. all-purp. flour)
  • 4 cups Chicken Stock (2 cups homemade vegetable stock)
  • ½ teaspoons Sea Salt (or To Taste)
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Pepper, Or To Taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (I used 3 Tbsp. olive oil)
  • 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (no cheese)
  • 4 whole Scallions (Green Onions), Sliced (no scallions) used sprig of parsley
  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt (1/2 cup sour cream)

Preparation Instructions

Scoop the white insides out of the baked potato skins. Roughly chop the white insides and set them aside. Chop potato skins and set aside.
In a large stock pot brown the diced bacon over medium heat. Once it’s crispy, remove bacon from the pan and drain off the grease.
Add 4 tablespoons butter to the brown bits at the bottom of the stock pot. Add onion and continue to cook over medium heat until onion is caramelized. Add minced garlic and flour. Stir flour until absorbed by the butter and cooked, about 1-2 minutes.
While stirring, slowly add chicken stock to the flour mixture to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer then turn heat to low. Add the insides of the diced baked potato. Add sea salt and pepper. Cover pot and continue to cook over low heat.
In a large saute pan add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat and heat until all of the butter is melted. Add the chopped potato skins and fry them until crisp and heated through.
Add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 2/3 of the scallions and Greek yogurt into the pot of soup. Stir well and continue to cook over low heat until heated through and cheese is melted.
Serve soup topped with remaining bacon, cheddar cheese, scallions and crisp potato skins.
 

OK...now that this recipe is out of the way...I'd like to share with you our typical S. Florida cloudy skies...so close that you can almost touch it...followed by a super storm immediately after the clouds, lasting for about an hour and followed by sunshine, or again more storms!
A typical Sunday afternoon...4:00PM; returning from the PGA Mall w/family...going over the Southern Blvd. bridge in West Palm Beach...stopped at the red light on the bridge, when suddenly realizing the huge rain cloud hovering over our heads.
Got out of the Jeep...so did other people, to snap photos of the storm cloud!
You would think this is a 'black and white' photo...but it's not; it is actually the grey color that it was taken with color!
Ten minutes later at my destination...on the beach! The clouds look like they could just 'devour you'...a bit 'scary'!
Another 10 more minutes later; have you every seen clouds like that?...as they say..."this is South Florida"...indeed it is...a 'typical S. Florida weather'! (just an hour earlier, it was sunny, with a few scattered clouds)

Have a beautiful week, my dear friends! (readers, followers, and all!) ...xoxo

 

15 comments:

Patty Magyar said...

Love the photos! Every soup pictured here looks amazing! Who doesn't love potatoes?

Kati said...

Nagyon szép ajándékokat kaptál :) leves is csakis finom lehet :) Nagy vihar készülődött nálatok is. Puszi :)

Joyful said...

Hi Elizabeth, I love soup and your potato soup looks and sounds delicious. Your photos of the storm clouds are awesome. I've not spent much time in South Florida and I didn't realize it was always storming (according to another lady I know who lived in Tampa, now Orlando). Seems the weather changes very fast where you live. Have a wonderful week!

~ Nee ~ said...

Hi Elisabeth , love potatoes and the soup is so inviting , your photos of the storm clouds are awesome ...thanks ... so glad you are back ~Nee~

Emma said...

My mum used to make a soup like this, I miss it! It looks so creamy and rich, just lovely Elisabeth (I love those vintage spoons too!). I also really like your adaptations. I am always adapting recipes!

The pics of that epic storm are so beautiful, especially the last one, I love how people here where I live, no matter how many storms we have, always go out to have a look.

I hope you're going ok, I'm thinking of you.

http://www.asplashofvanilla.com/

Phong Hong said...

Hi Elisabeth! Your baked potato soup (with bacon!!) is something that I would love to have right in front of the TV hah..hah...And you bet I will go for a second bowl. Those storm clouds look very menacing and I would feel very scared if I were there. Love that colourful tablecloth!

Ola said...

first of all, the soup looks delicious!
and the clouds are so amazing and so unusual to me!

Angie Schneider said...

I am having a pumpkin soup for the lunch. Next time I will make a creamy potato soup....might use German Quark instead of sour cream. Those storm cloud clicks are moody yet very beautiful.

Dawn Yucuis said...

The soup looks wonderful. Potato soups are always my favorite. I love the photos, the clouds do look scary.

Liz Berg said...

We love baked potato soup...and after all the summer recipes, it looks darned tempting!!! LOVE those cloud photos...nature sure gave you a magnificent show!!!! Glad to see you back, my friend!!! xo

Illéskrisz Konyhája said...

Rég írtam már Neked, remélem jól vagy! Micsoda szupercellás felhők, nem semmi. Elég ijesztőek. A krémleveseket imádjuk, főleg a burgonyát. Elég sűrűn főzöm én is... Puszillak!

Priya Suresh said...

Delicious soup, a warm bowl of this soup is just enough for me to finish my dinner happily.

Kathy said...

Your Baked potato soup looks so tempting, Elizabeth! And it is served so elegantly with that beautiful tablecloth and silver spoon.
Those cloud photos are amazing…quite threatening, but amazing non the less! This summer our weather has been so crazy…never even put in our air conditioners! Much cooler than usual! Have a wonderful holiday weekend, my friend!!

Amelia said...

Hi Elisaberth, this baked potato soup look very appetizing and delicious. I love your table cloth, so sweet looking. :)

Excellent pictures and beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing.
Have a wonderful weekend, regards.

Simona said...

This soup looks so delicious!