It’s getting chilly here and when the temperature drops, it doesn’t take long for my hankerin’ for soup to take over. This week, as I rummaged my pantry and shelves to see what yummy pot of soup I could make, I found the makings for Homemade Baked Potato Soup. I googled recipes, but decided on venturing out on my own.
I started to make the soup, and the phone began to ring. Before I knew it, I had an extra 4 kids under 10 and an extra teenager, staying for dinner. I’m so glad I had decided on using my big pot!
Baked Potato Soup Recipe:
12 Potatoes (I used 6 russet and 6 white~washed)
1 lb. of bacon
3 leeks, white parts trimmed and chopped
8 cloves of minced garlic (or more if you like…I used almost a whole bulb)
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
1 lg. green pepper, chopped
96 oz. of veggie stock (I used 3 cartons)
2 Tbls. fresh chopped rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 Cup skim milk
1 Cup of sour cream (I used low fat)
2 tsp. kosher salt
cracked pepper~to taste
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place whole potatoes in oven on sheet tray and bake for approx. 1 hour until done.
Place 1 lb. of bacon in oven (I find this is the easiest and least messy way to cook bacon) on a sheet tray and bake for approx. 25-30 min. Take out when crisp, and cool. Save grease.
In a large stock pot, place bacon grease, 1/4 stick of butter on medium high heat. When butter and grease are hot, put in leeks and onions and saute until golden. Add green peppers and garlic and saute another 5-7 min. Add in rosemary and 3/4 of the bacon chopped. Saute for a few minutes then add in all the stock, sour cream and milk. Bring to a boil.
In the meantime, chop up the baked potatoes. Once stock comes to a boil, add potatoes, salt and pepper.
Cook for another 10 minutes. Then blend soup with an immersion blender to the consistency you like.
Serve soup and top with shredded cheddar cheese, chives, rest of bacon (crumbled) and parsley.
We served the soup with salad and bread. No one left the table hungry and we had enough leftover for lunch!
