World's Best, Loaded, Baked Potato Soup!

I went to Heaven twice this past weekend. The first time was when my sister and I made this most delicious, loaded, baked potato soup. The second time - was when I made the soup again the next day! I'd sent a bunch home with my big sis since we'd cooked it up together - it's so much more fun to share the wealth ;-) But by the time my husband put clams and a handful of bay shrimp in his half of what was left, and my daughter and I had a bowl each - it was gone! And I have to tell you....this soup is SO freaking amazing I had no choice but to make it again.
Not only is this soup PERFECT when made to the letter of the recipe below - but I believe it could very well be the grand base for a million other soups (*note- the original recipe calls for whole milk - the first go-'round we used 2% as I never buy whole milk and it was PLENTY thick. Round two, I used skim as that's what I always buy and it was a thick and velvety as the first batch - trust me). I'd first halve the amount of potatoes in it and I'd probably dice them whereas in the original recipe, you simply put the scooped out chunks tater of any size right into the pot. Depending on what other ingredients I'd add, I also might use my immersion blender to make the soup silky smooth with tates rather than chunky at all. BUT...think of the varieties of soups you could make just by tossing in your favorite ingredients! Like I said, the hubs threw in a can of clams and a small handful of bay shrimp to create Slumgullion - but what I wanna try is a bag of frozen super sweet corn and a can or two of green chilies! But what about leftover ham, or sweet or spicy sausage? Maybe roasted garlic cloves or roasted peppers and onions - Holy Moly the list is endless...ENDLESS I'M TELLING YOU! Besides the fact that I adore this soup 'as is', it may be my my newest fave recipe only because it's SO versatile and I can make it the way I want it when the moods strikes me..whatever my mood might be! If I've ever wanted you to try ANYthing on this site before...this is THE one thing I beg you to cook up. It's super easy, really fast and insanely good!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
9 baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups skim milk (can use 2% or whole as well)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup bacon bits
4 green onions, chopped
10 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1, (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions:
Prick potatoes with a fork and cook in the microwave until soft baked (you can do this step ahead of time if you choose). Scoop out the baked potato flesh into bowl. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly till mixture bubbles, then cook a minute more to dispel a flat 'flour taste'. Whisk in milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly (will be very thick when first few additions of milk are whisked in - just keep whisking and adding in all milk). Stir until this mixture begins to thicken - about 5 minutes. Add in potatoes, salt, pepper, bacon bits, green onions and the cheese. Stir to incorporate. Add in sour cream and heat through. Serve topped with additional bacon, onions and cheese if desired.

Arriba! Mexican Shredded Beef!

You know when you buy a piece of meat on sale and you maybe cut it in half and freeze one-a the halves for later use? Can’t it be so easy to forget about that frozen hunk-a meat?! When we recently bought a rather large pot roast on sale, I vowed that when placed half in a freezer bag that I would not let it go to waste. And this past Sunday, we cooked up that wonder cut of beef and made it into the most succulent, delicious Mexican, shredded beef I’ve ever had. Shredded beef is a great change-up for tacos and nachos, etc. We use many different proteins in our Mexican, hamburger, ground turkey, chicken…but this was SO dang good and we’d always wanted to try it. Besides…after my daughter announced, the last time we had actual pot roast dinner – that she didn’t like pot roast – I knew we had to try something different with it….and you know what? She liked it! Ha!

All you have to do is make up the rub, poke garlic into the meat and toss it all in a crock pot with onions and peppers and leave it for 7 hours. I’m telling you it could not be any simpler! Totally give this a try – you will be glad you did J Yum, yum, yum!

Start by poking a few slits into the roast and filling each one with a peeled clove of garlic….
Spoon all of the rub ingredients into a bowl and mix’em up good – then rub’m all over the meat. Next, slice up the two jalapenos, onion and green pepper... Massage both sides of the roast with the rub, put it in the crock pot, cover with the peppers ands onions and pour in the liquid. It’ll seem like a very small amount if liquid, but trust me….this pot’ll brew up plenty of wonderful ‘juice’!

Cover the pot and go about your busy day for approx 7 hours for a 3 ½ pound roast.

Once it’s done, slap that chunk-a beauty meat down on a cutting board. Trust me, you’ll only need to use a fork to ‘smash’ through the meat as it be practically falling apart on itself – Note…remove any fat and all other ‘oogeys’ as you go! No one wants to bite into a blobbity! Leave the garlic cloves whole...smash through them or remove them – you’re choice. We left them whole – see – there’s one at about 9 o’clock!
Return meat to flavorful, brothy liquid until ready to serve. Depending on what you’re gonna do with it, you may choose to strain the meat (save the broth!) or simply let it drain of into the pot as you use tongs to remove servings of the tender, beef.
Now that your meat is done, you can use it in any way you choose..but here's what we did. We heated up some pinto beans (not refried beans...the whole ones are better here – and placed a few beans and some of the beef on a warmed small corn or flour tortilla.
Then dressed with a little lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes - (and some cheese if you choose) – all that was left to do then was to dig into juicy, beefy heaven!

Mexican Shredded Beef

Ingredients:
3 ½ to 4 pound pot roast
6 cloves garlic – peeled
1 tablespoon paprika (or smoked paprika)
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1 large onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 jalapeno chili peppers, seeded & sliced
4 fluid ounces beer (can sub beef broth or cola)
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 can rotelle tomatoes with chilies and cilantro
1 can green salsa verde

Directions:
Poke as many holes in roast as garlic cloves you have, and push a clove into each hole. Combine all spices in a bowl, mix together and rub all over both sides of meat and place roast in crock pot. Slice onion and peppers and scatter over roast in pot. Combine all liquid/wet ingredients (last 5 ingredients) and pour over veggies & meat in pot. Place lid on crock pot and cook on low setting for 7 hours. Remove meat to cutting board or platter and shred with a fork. Return meat to liquid in pot and keep warm until ready to use. If not using right away, you can keep meat in it’s liquid in the fridge. A thin, top layer of fat will form on top once chilled in refrigerator. Once ready to reheat, you may choose to discard this or you can mix it back in as mixture reheats.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Do any of the following weather conditions apply to where you are right now?

Cold
Dreary
Gray
Rainy
Foggy
Nippy
Pleasantly sunny with a fall bite in the air

If so, you NEED to make this creamy white chicken chili! It is one of my all tie favorite dishes and I can hardly believe I’ve never featured it here before. I can also hardy believe I don’t have a better picture of it! Crap! While it looks rather washed out above, this chili if FULL of flavor with green chilies, tender chicken, creamy white beans and silky ‘broth’. It is a winner - especially in the winter – but it’s great ANY day.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ½ inch pieces
1 medium chopped onion
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 T vegetable oil
3 cans (15 ½ oz each) great northern white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
2 cans (those small cans) chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp pepper’1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
½ cup whipping cream (can use half-n-half)

Directions:
In large skillet, sauté chicken, onion and garlic in vegetable oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat**. Stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Heat through. Serve immediately.

Whatever it is, it's not chili...

Oh boy did we have a good dinner last night at my house! I made a savory, cheese bread and....well...I hardly know what to call the stuff in the bowl. I know it looks lke chili - but it's not. It's not really soup, but I guess it could be. It's meaty and beanny so entirely yum-filled I can hardly stand it! Maybe I could call it meaty-beany stew? Yup - I think that's what it'll be -

you get a good idea about the dish from that name, no? Stew isn't as thick as chili yet it's thicker than soup - that's just what this is. And although this has a bit of chili powder in it, there's no overwhelming chili taste - like at all - which is fine with me 'cause I really don't like chili - like at all. Real chili can be so dang strong that you can't taste the meat or the other yummies in it and this has lots of yummies! It's not spicy, but it's full of flavor. The following recipe makes a lot - so be prepared for leftovers unless you have a large group to feed! You can cut it in half by eliminating a few cans of beans and just halving the water and tomato paste etc. Trust me though.....you will NOT mind eating this a few meals in a row - it's that good!
Meaty-Beany Stew ~
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can each (approx 15 oz)- great northern white beans, butter beans, pinto beans - rinsed & drained
2 cans kidney beans (approx 15 oz) - rinsed and drained
2, 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1 can (14.5 oz) peeled, diced tomatoes
1 large onion - medium dice
1 green pepper - medium dice
1 red pepper - medium dice
1, 3-lb package all-white ground turkey meat (could use beef, but you'll need to drain off the rendered fat)
4 beef boullion cubes disolved in 8 cups of water
4 garlic cloves - minced (put through garlic press)
1 packet powdered brown gravy mix
*1 - 2 teaspoons Salt
*2 teaspoons Pepper
*1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
*1 tablespoon Onion Powder

*2 teaspoons Butt Rubb
*2 teaspoons Pampered Chef Crushed Red Peppercorn seasoning
*2 teaspoons Chili Powder
In a large stew pot, over medium high heat, heat olive oil, then add onions and garlic and stir until onions just begin to soften - about 5 minutes. Add in ground turkey and season well with salt and pepper. Stir frequently to break up turkey into small pieces. When turkey is just about cooked through, add in red and green peppers and stir to combine. Add in all of the rinsed, drained beans stirring again to combine. Pour in the 8 cups of water with the disolved beef boullion along with the two cans of tomato paste and the packet of beef gravy mix. Add in all of the dry spices. * * Note - you may not have Butt Rub or the Pampered Chef spices on hand. You can substitute a red peppercorn seasoning/bbq-type rub from your grocer's spice isle for each f these. Use seasoning that you love! Also....season this dish to taste...you may need/want a little more/less salt, garlic powder etc.
Gently stir everything in the pot and turn up the heat a bit, stiring now and then until it comes to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium low, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 45 minutes - stirring occasionally. After that, remove the lid and let it simmer another 30 minutes - again, stirring occasionally. Your Meaty-Beany Stew is ready to warm and fill you up!

Savory Cheese Bread ~
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup roasted garlic cloves, mashed (2 heads of garlic) or approx 20 cloves peeled/roasted
3 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (packed in oil), finely chopped
1 egg yolk and a few tablespoons of water for the egg wash
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheeses, baking powder, salt and roasted garlic. Add the eggs, chives, evaporated milk, metled butter and dried tomatoes. Mix until combined and
then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work area. Knead lightly until it comes together into a ball. It won't be real smoooth and will still be a bit tacky. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope that’s between 12 and 14 inches long. Transfer the ropes to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Secure the ropes together at one end and then braid them loosely. Tuck the ends of the braid under the loaf.
Combine the egg yolk and the water and brush the loaf with the egg wash.
Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until the bread is a nice golden brown colour
Let the bread cool completely before slicing. Serve with above Meaty-Beany Stew!