crock pot potato cheese soup

October 4, 2012 4 Comments

it’s FALL here in the Northeast.. which of course you already know that I LOVE !!!!! 

one of the many things ( # 19 on that list to be exact) is SOUP!!

this here, my friends is the easiest soup that you will ever make. And it rivals Panera’s. I promise.

I pinky promise 🙂

Crock pot Potato Soup

you will need

1~ a bag of frozen hash browns ( $2)

2~ a package of Mccormick country gravy mix ( near the spices) ( $1.50)

3~ a box o stock ( $2) ( for vegetarian, use veg stock)

4~ shredded cheddar ( $2) ( optional)

place all ingredients except cheese in a crock pot on low for 6 hours… stir in cheese during last 1/2 hour

OR place all ingredients except cheese in a stock pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.. stir in cheese at the end until melted.

you can keep it as is.. and have it chunky ( yum) or you can use an immersion blender and blend until smooth..

season with salt & pepper.. voila! an awesome autumn soup 🙂

you could get all crazy and add broccoli.. or bacon… or asparagus…. use your imagination! get down with your bad self!

For those of you who are campers ( you know who you are 😉 ) this is a perfect dinner to whip up at the campground !

and the grand total..

$4.50 for the whole pot without cheese ( cheaper than a bowl of soup at Panera)

or $ 6.50 with the cheese ( go for the cheese 😉 it makes me happy 🙂 🙂 🙂

thanks to my hoski friends for allowing me to share this recipe 🙂

and remember.. there is still time to register to win a pair of Mom’s hand knit SOCKS

oxooxoxox

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oh no she didn’t!

August 22, 2011 3 Comments

Oh YES she did!

 

So here’s a shocker.. I don’t really like potatoes. I mean I don’t dislike them or anything, but they can be kind of boring.. not  at all exciting as say.. maybe

Cheese?

If I’m going to eat calories, I want them to be for something that I love, not just like.

SO when I was catching up on some blog reading & I saw a picture of Angela making home made potato chips.. I sais to myself, “self.. you should try that” so I did.

I started by washing the potatoes, then slicing them about 1/4 inch thick. I tossed them with some Evoo, salt & pepper & placed them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet

(makes for real easy clean-up 😉

 

I roasted them at 375 for about 20 minutes, carefully turning them 1/2 way through.

I served them alongside a garlic mayo that I made by just stirring some crushed garlic into a small bowl of mayo.. 

friends, this was an easy recipe and inexpensive and so darn good.  Even for this potato non-lover.

Here’s where I got a little crazy.  I made way too many chips, so we had leftovers. I put them in a small paper lunch bag ( the paper helped absorb the excess oil).

 

So Sunday afternoon, I was trying to decide what to do with them (I hate to throw food away) and it hit me..

Potato Chip NACHOS!!   seriously..it just made so much sense

so I placed the chips on the cookie sheet & placed them in a 375 oven for about 5 minutes to warm them, then topped with cheddar cheese, onions,& jalepeno

 

I placed them under the broiler for a few minutes..

served with  FF Greek yogurt & cilantro.

 

OMG!

I finally think I have a potato recipe that I love 😉

smooches!

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Kale soup

September 29, 2010 6 Comments

mmm…. Kale…. one of my absolutely favorites. I don’t really know when this happened.. I don’t exactly remember eating kale as a child, but somewhere along the open road of life, kale & I met and  the rest is history..

So when our CSA share from Plato\’s Harvest Organic farm contained not only one, but TWO types of kale to chose from. I was a bit delirious

and leeks!!!

I could barely contain with the excitement of making kale soup!!

I’m serious.  this was possibly the highlight of my week.

my recipe..

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, halved & sliced thinly

6 links of Hot sausage, cut in half lengthwise & cut into half-moons

3 garlic cloves, smashed

2 quarts chicken stock ( I had one quart homemade & 1 quart reduced-sodium store bought)

large can of whole tomatoes ( or fresh prepared)

2 bay leaves

2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed clean & cut into quarters (I used baby potatoes.. if you used larger ones, cut in inch size pieces

1 large bunch of kale , rinsed & leaves torn form stems into bite size pieces

I parmesan cheese rind ( I save them when I get to to the end of the cheese & freeze them just for soups like this 😉

1 can each red kindney beans & white cannelloni beans, rinsed & drained

1 teaspoon paprika

cayenne pepper to taste ( I like mine on the HOT side )

salt & pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in large dutch oven; add onion, sausage & potatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (everything will start to caramelize)

Add the garlic, stirring immediately then add the stock, tomatoes, bay leaves & cheese rind; bring to a boil.

Add the kale all at once and push down into the hot liquid. Add the remaining spices, reduce to a simmer & cover.

Cook until taters are tender.

Remove bay leaves  and enjoy!!


I served it with bread from our bread share…

and individual apple crisps for dessert

topped with whipped cream & apple butter

oh.

yeah.

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