Guy Fieri Loaded Baked Potatoe Soup

It's that time of year when we are craving comfort food and this is one of mine.  I love homemade soup during the winter.  This is one of my favorites.  A couple of years ago my daughter made potato soup that was so delicious and different from what I had been used to.  When I asked her how she made it she told me she had baked the potatoes instead of boiling them.  So from then on I have made my soup this way.  Hope you give it a try, it really is worth the effort...but really it's not that hard.
adapted from here

2 large baking potatoes (Idaho or russet)
6 slices  smoked bacon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

2 cups half and half

1 can chicken broth
3 ounces cheese of your choice , grated *I used taco blend that I had on hand*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces sour cream
1 small onion diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and bake for 45 minutes. When done, the tip of a paring knife should go through the potatoes easily.
  

Cook in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Add the flour to the drippings in the pot and stir to combine. Cook, without adding color, until the flour and fat has combined, about 1 minute. Pour in the milk while you whisk to incorporate. Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

Scoop out the potato pulp from the skins and add to the milk mixture. Mash with the back of a wooden spoon leaving it a little bit chunky.

Add the cooked bacon (leaving a little out for garnishing the soup), 1 cup of the cheese, and season well with salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the soup in bowls, top with crumbled bacon, some cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  Then say YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  ☺

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things you L♥ve.

Donna

Faux Twice Baked Potato - LC

I belong to Atkins online and we have a wonderful group that shares life stories regarding weight loss, food and just everyday living. (group name on forum is 50-60's with 30-40 lbs to lose) One of the gals talked alot about Almost Twice Baked Potato and so I finally decided to give it a try.  I changed a few things from here  .  I roasted a turkey the other day and one of them meals I made this was the side along with sauteed snow peas.  The dinner was really good and best part is was all Low Carb.  If you are trying to lose weight and struggle you should give LC a try.  It's a very healthy way to eat and best of all you can lose weight and inches.  I have been LC'ing now for almost 2 years, my weight loss has been steady and slow and I have lost 31 lbs....feel fantastic and have lots of clothes that now fit.

printable

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower
4 oz. soft cream cheese
3 TBL butter
green onion 3 or 4 tops included
3-5  slices bacon
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or colby/jack)
1/2 cup muenster cheese, grated
4 heaping TBL sour cream (more if you like)

Directions:
Preheat oven 350°, grease a 8x8 baking dish or a 2 qt. casserole dish.  Cut the cauliflower and cook in the microwave in a large bowl for about 12-15 minutes.  (can cook on top of stove also) until tender.  Drain.  Cook the bacon until crisp, when done use the grease from the bacon to saute your onion.  Put cauliflower in dish and mash, but leave some small chunky pieces, mix in the cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, and muenster.  Chop the bacon and add that and the onions to the cauliflower.  Mix well.  Bake for 20-40 minutes.  The last 10 minutes top with some more cheese and turn to oven til melted.  Serve.  YUM
 I served this with a roasted turkey and salad.

Makes about 6 servings
per serving:  approximately 324 calories; 27 g fat, 145g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 net carbs.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
D♥nna

Broccoli and Cheese Soup (LC)

Well it's snowing here in KS ....again....am sooooooooooo ready for Spring and some decent weather.  I wrote this and also made the soup the day it snowed and that day was Feb. 4.    So with that said it was perfect weather for some soup and today's choice was Broccoli and Cheese.  Best part of this one is that it is LC too, and oh so yummy.

1/2 head of broccoli crowns (microwave in bowl with water for about 4 min)
1/2 onion diced
1 - 2 carrots (cook in microwave til almost tender)
3 pcs bacon
4-5 oz. velvetta
4 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2-1 cp half and half (can also use milk)
1 pkt chicken powder seasoning (makes stock)
2/3 cp water
salt and pepper

In stock pot cook bacon, when almost crisp add the onion and cook until translucent.  Add the half and half and start adding the cheeses, cook until melted.  Add 1/3 of broccoli and then use an immersion blender to make it nice
and smooth.  Add the rest of the broccoli and the carrots and simmer until done.
Serve with some sour cream on top and a little bit of fresh parsley.  Enjoy

Thanks for stopping by,  have a great week and Remember to Find the Time to do all the Things YOU L♥ve.
D♥nna

Chicken Puffs

I have been wanting to make some puff pastry so I could stuff them with chicken, crab, shrimp or make them into a dessert.  Well here is my first attempt, and I decided to use chicken for the first test.  These are really yummy, and would be great for a brunch, a small dinner party or whatever you think.  The puff comes together so quickly and is so tasty, and so may possibilities.
Ingredients:  preheat oven 450 *see note below

Puff

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

 
 

Now ready for the oven  * Bake at 450 for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 400 and cook for approx. 25 more minutes or until golden brown.

 And done, can you smell them??? 

 Chicken for the inside. 
Ingredients:
3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
3/4 - 1 sweet onion diced
2 cloves garlic
salt/ pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheese (your choice) I used Italian Mix
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
3 TBL mayo  approx.  This and the ranch you may want to add more..
4 TBL ranch dressing (I always make mine from the powdered ranch mix) approx.

 When you're ready you can scoop some of the inside of the pasty and fill them with the chicken mixture and top with a bit of paprika and EAT.  Another YUM! 

  Have a wonderful day, and give these a try, they're worth the little bit of work it takes to make them and the puff pastry recipe you can use for a dessert also.  I'll be back with one that I made using this recipe.  Also I am going to experiment making Bavarian Cream filled ones so be sure to come back and see those.
Thanks for stopping by and Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things You Love.
Donna