Perfect Bacon Potato Soup // A Recipe

We love a good soup in our house - especially through the winter months. In the spring and summer, we're all about the grill, but once the winds shift and the leaves change, we love bringing the recipe book back out and stocking our fridge with Tupperware filled with soups that can be warmed up over and over again. I love having leftover soup for lunch at home, and we usually try to make enough to last us through the week. The only problem is finding soups that Brandon will eat. ;)

This one is a winner. Last winter we were on the hunt for THE perfect potato soup. I tend to gravitate to soups that are hearty and thick as opposed to "soupy" and less filling. And though we have several variations of potato soup recipes saved in our book, this one has become the go-to of choice. It's filling, it's the equivalent of "comfort food," it tastes really good as leftovers, and Brandon will eat it! This is a soup that I crave almost on a weekly basis, and we probably end up making it at least twice a month. It's packed with potatoes of course, but also bacon, onion, celery and carrots... and we always like sprinkling a little bit of cheese on top, allowing it to melt right into the heart of the soup. The texture of the soft, cooked bacon in each bite, is one of my favorite parts because - who doesn't love bacon??

We've made this soup enough that it was time to share the recipe with you all. So without further adieu, our Perfect Bacon Potato Soup.

Ingredients:
6 slices thin bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 whole carrots, scrubbed clean and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 whole small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoons salt - more to taste if you desire
Black pepper - to taste
1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice mix
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1 cup grated cheese of your choice

To Make:
1. Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.
2. Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper and Cajun spice.
3. Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food processor until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs.
5. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.
6. Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, cheese and bacon pieces.

Bon Appetite!

 

 

Chicken Scampi - A Recipe

 

After a fun date night and a good meal a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to somehow recreate the pasta I dined on that night... at a fraction of the expense! Thus, chicken scampi in our own kitchen. I love pasta dishes of pretty much every type, but don't always want the thick, heavy cream and sauces that go hand-in-hand with some dishes. This is flavorful but relatively light, and even Jaden is requesting it again! You could also substitute shrimp for the chicken if you prefer.

 

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine... add a little more if you like a rich white wine flavor like I do!
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch-long strips
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cooked pasta of your choosing for serving

To Prepare:

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.  Add the wine, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Simmer until the wine has reduced by half, approximately 3-5 minutes.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the sauce in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, or until no longer pink inside and until the juices run clear when pricked with a fork.  Stir in the parsley and lemon juice.  Serve over pasta.

I see this as a go-to meal this summer on the deck, accompanied by a summer night's breeze and a glass of wine!

You asked for it... a recipe!

BBQ Chicken over Penne!

Many people have been asking me lately about who does the cooking in our house. I'm one of the lucky ones who married a man that not only knows how to cook... but also likes to cook. We have a pretty awesome system going on in our house.

How the magic happens:

Our local grocery store comes out with their weekly deals every Wednesday. The coupons show up in my mailbox Tuesday night, and an e-mail describing every "red tag" item shows up in my inbox Wednesday morning. I use those red tag deals and coupons to come up with the majority of our grocery list for the week. What meats to buy... what snack items of choice for the week... what items to splurge on for a special treat... etc. In the spring and summer, Cody is happiest at the grill so we do a LOT of grilling. We spice it up with peppers, onions, veggies, foil packs... and maybe accompany it with some bread from time to time. But I also try and pick one tried and true recipe to throw into the mix... and then pick out a new one every week. When picking out my recipes, I always read the reviews of that recipe. A lot of times, those reviews have ways to change up the original recipe to make it even better. Once I pick out the recipe, I do the grocery shopping. I'm much better at budget shopping than Cody and actually use a calculator to tally up every item I throw into the cart. I usually go with a target dollar amount in mind that I want to spend... and I always save the meat for the very end of my shopping trip since that's usually the most expensive, and I like to know how much I've spent up to that point.

That is our system. I plan the budget, check the sale items, find the recipes, read the reviews... and Cody does all the cooking. Except for the baking... I like to bake so he saves that for me.

This most recent new recipe we tried was so good and provided plenty of leftovers. Cody actually changed up the original recipe due to time constraints. The recipe didn't call for it be thrown into the crockpot... but we did... and we'll do it that way again. Here's how to recreate:

*1 or 2 packages of penne pasta. (We used two... we have four mouths to feed and enjoy leftovers for weekend lunches).
*1 or 2 chopped onions. (I can never have enough onion).
*2 garlic cloves, minced.
*2 pounds chicken breast, coated with the BBQ sauce of your choice
*1 can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
*1/2 cup roasted red pepper
*1/2 cup chicken broth
*1 teaspoon ground cumin
*pepper to taste
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
*3 chopped green onions

Throw all of the above (except for the pasta) into the crockpot and turn it on low for six-eight hours. We didn't put the cheese into the crockpot until the very end.

Cook your pasta and drain. Shred the chicken and throw the crockpot mix over your pasta. Eat!

Hope you enjoy it!

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup - The Recipe

Since I've had a few requests, here is the recipe for our Sunday evening meal we devoured. (All four of us).

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

Ingredients:
5 whole garlic heads
2 bacon slices, diced
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups diced baking potato (about 2 pounds)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup 2% low-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Remove white papery skin from each garlic head (do not peel or separate cloves). Wrap each head separately in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour; let cool for 10 minutes. Separate cloves, and squeeze to extract 1/4 cup of garlic pulp; discard the skins.

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Add onion, carrot and minced garlic, and saute for five minutes. Add potato, broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender; remove bay leaf.

Combine garlic pulp and two cups potato mixture in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return to pan; stir in milk, and cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Remove from heath and stir in chopped parsley.

The best part about this meal was that even our two little picky eaters loved it, and it was a good way to get some vegetables in them since that's a hard thing to do. We also talked about adding another veggie next time around... maybe some celery? Jaden even asked for leftovers of this the night after!

Happy cooking!

A Recipe

If you like spicy and pasta, you'll like this. Cody and I tried it for a new Sunday evening recipe, and it's a keeper. (But we like spicy and we like pasta). ;) This is not recommended for small kids!

Chicken with Chipotle Alfredo Sauce

INGREDIENTS


2 cups uncooked penne pasta (6 oz)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from 7-oz can), finely chopped
1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
 
...and we added some Red Pepper and some Onion. Because I like both of those things. ;)
 

 
DIRECTIONS


1. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken and garlic in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in chile and Alfredo sauce; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Serve chicken mixture over pasta; sprinkle with cilantro.
 

 
...Yum. I'm glad we have leftovers. :)

Chocolate-Cream Cheese-Peanut Butter Bars

I tried this recipe for the first time for Father's Day... and it is a keeper! In fact, it was a Betty Crocker prize winning recipe in 2006. Super easy... super yummy.

Ingredients:
Cookie Base and Topping
1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 egg

Filling
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter (I used creamy)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie base and topping ingredients until soft dough forms. Shape 6 (1-inch) balls of dough. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart; flatten in crisscross pattern with fork.

2. Press remaining dough in pan. Bake cookies and base 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Reserve cookies for topping.

3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and butter uncovered on high 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and stirred smooth. Spread evenly over bars. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and whipping cream with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat on high speed about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread over chocolate layer.

5. Crush reserved cookies; sprinkle over cream cheese layer. Press in lightly. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Store covered in refrigerator.

You will have trouble eating just one at a time!

Chicken-Veggie Stir-Fry

We are on a quest to try a new recipe every weekend. This one was last night's choice. It was yummy. Cody's words were: "This one's a keeper." Even our kids seemed to give it their stamp of approval. (Jaden ate more of the chicken than the veggies, but at least he kept asking for more chicken - "This is good!")

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, cut into wedges (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 oz fresh sugar snap peas (I HATE peas... so Cody replaced the peas with some potatoes... not as healthy, but oh well)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

(It doesn't call for potatoes, but we added some).

--------

1. In medium bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken; toss until evenly coated
2. In 10-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook chicken in oil about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on outside and no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
3. In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil until hot. Cook onion, bell pepper and peas (and potatoes) in oil about six minutes, stirring occasionally until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Return chicken to skillet. Stir in broth, vinegar and lemon pepper seasoning. Cook about 1 minute or until hot. Springle with oregano.

Y.U.M.M.Y.