Baked Potato Soup

No I have not given up on this project. Fooled you though eh?

So this recipe is a great soup that I first did when D's parents visited us back in April. Soup is hard for me because most soups have tomatoes in them, and those that don't taste like water. Thus, the plethora of creamy soups ("Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?") on the blog. 

Baked Potato Soup

4 large potatoes

1/2 c butter

1/2 c flour

2 c chicken broth

4 c milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 green onions, chopped

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 1/4 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Bake potatoes in 400˚ oven for 1 hour or until tender. Let cool, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp, set aside. Discard skins. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring til smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth and milk, cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, green onions, bacon, and cheese. Cook until heated. 

NOTES:

To cut down time, I often just cube the potatoes and boil them, then lightly mash them (lightly--you don't want mush that you can't even tell is potatoes, not that I know that from experience . . .)

Sausage and Kale Soup

My sister-in-law made this for us over the holidays and I LOVED it. It's like the Zuppa Tuscana soup from Olive Garden. There are a lot of recipes out there for this soup, but this one is easy, tasty, and IC friendly. I have no complaints.

For IC people, be careful with sausage. Don't ever get anything flavored or spicy or swimming in preservatives.

Sausage and Kale Soup
Soup Base
1 can chicken broth
1/4 c half and half
1 qt water

Main Ingredients
~6 Potatoes, cubed
1 package mild Italian sausage
2 leaves kale, cut off the stalk and into strips
Dried Onion and Garlic Salt to taste

Saute sausage and drain grease. Mix together the soup base and add main ingredients. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Like I said, easy!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Okay, who doesn't love soup, right? With IC, I can't eat tomatoes, preservatives (bouillon), extreme spices, etc. Thus, a lot of soups are ruled out and I'm left with bland, boring water with some vegetables. Not very exciting. This recipe is great because it's hearty, flavorful, and a nice change from just plain ol' chicken noodle.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
1 T oil (I use olive oil-yummo)
1 onion, chopped (I use dried onion flakes and some green onions)
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 large chicken breasts
3 1/2 c water
1 can organic chicken broth
2 c wide egg noodles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Put first four ingredients in a pot and saute until vegetables are soft. Add chicken, water, and broth and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and shred. Add noodles and simmer until tender (~10 min). Add canned soup and chicken and heat through (~5 min).

Variations:
Cook the chicken breasts in at least 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Use that resulting stock to sub out plain water and can of chicken broth. This also speeds up the process as you don't have to boil the chicken for 30 minutes. :)

I go back and forth between regular pasta and whole wheat. The wheat pasta is thicker and more filling, but more expensive. Either taste great, so you can't really lose!

I also add some sprinkles of rosemary, parsley, garlic powder, etc.