Comfort Food: Baked Potatoes and Soup Combined

I think the title says it all. So, why don't I just go ahead and share the recipe?

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

5 pounds russet potatoes, washed but not peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium to large yellow onion, diced
10 cloves of garlic, minced (or 5 teaspoons bottled minced garlic)
8 cups chicken broth or stock
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon seasoned salt

Optional toppings:

Crumbled bacon
Shredded cheese
Green onions

Directions:

Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.

Cook on high for 6 hours, or on low for 10 hours.

Add the softened cream cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender until the cheese is incorporated and about half the soup is blended. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can puree the soup in batches in a blender. Just be careful not to fill the blender more than 3/4 full. If you fill a blender all the way full of hot liquid, it can explode when you blend it).

Stir well. Top with your choice of garnishes and enjoy.

Yields 10-12 servings

Source: I found this on Pinterest. It is from a site called "Mama Loves Food" and you can find it here.

Notes: My goodness, this was so good! I loved this. I probably blended about 3/4 of the soup (as opposed to half of it). I also only used 8 oz. of cream cheese. I felt it would be plenty, and for me, it was. This soup is so creamy and flavorful. Delicious!

This made a lot. It definitely serves 10-12 people, if not more.

2014 Update: I made this again this winter. Man, this is such a good soup recipe!

 

Above: I have made this many times, and each time I make it, it is to die for.

Time to Lose a Few Pounds!

Raise your hand if you ate too much over the holidays! Okay, now everyone can put their hands down. Now it's time to get some veggies and some low calorie meals planned into our schedules! A great way to do that is to make gazpacho. It is light, filling, quick, and full of nutrients.

I already have some good gazpacho recipes on our blog, but this is a new one that I found care of my brother-in-law. It's a nice change of pace because it isn't tomato based.

I know it might seem weird to have gazpacho during the winter, but I think we could all stand to eat a little lighter for a few weeks...or months!

Avocado Corn Gazpacho

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 yellow squash, coarsely choppped
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 ripe avocados
1 1/2 cups fresh corn, cut from 1 or 2 cobs (frozen corn can also be used)
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup lime juice
5 to 5 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Put the zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a food processor and pulse briefly. The pieces should be small, but not minced or soupy. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Halve and pit the avocados. Put 1/2 an avocado in the food processor and pulse to puree. Dice the remaining 1 1/2 avocados. To the bowl of vegetables, add the avocado puree, diced avocado, fresh corn, cilantro, lime juice, cold water, and salt and pepper. Mix gently with a large spoon. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ice cold. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.

Make it a meal by serving it with some tortilla chips and a light green salad.

Source: I found this recipe through my brother-in-law who found it on Food Network. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: I used frozen corn (white corn). I increased the corn to 2 cups and used 4 avocados instead of 3. I like to crush some tortilla chips on top of this gazpacho. This is so refreshing and delicious. 

Fantastic Fungus!

Seriously, doesn't it seem wrong to call a mushroom a fungus? I love mushrooms. They add so much to a meal. Now we have a word for it...umami! Webster's Dictionary describes it as "a taste sensation that is meaty or savory and is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides (as glutamate and aspartate)." Wikipedia describes it as follows, "Umami, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes, together with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. A loanword from the Japanese (うま味), umami can be translated "pleasant savory taste."

I bought these mushrooms for a pasta sauce (more on that very soon...perhaps by this weekend). I bought extra mushrooms because I misjudged the amount in the package. No problem though! I will never complain about having bought too many mushrooms. Even if I had sauteed them with just a little salt and pepper and eaten them on their own for lunch, it would have been well worth it.  As it was, I found this easy and tasty little recipe to use them in. Enjoy!

Chicken with Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme)
1 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine, optional (or use another 1/4 cup chicken broth)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Place flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then coat with flour, shaking off excess.

In a large skillet, heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. In batches, cook chicken until browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.

Reduce heat to medium, add thyme, mushrooms, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and cook until softened, 6 minutes.

Add broth and wine, if using, and cook, stirring, until reduced by half, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to pan along with any accumulated juices; top with parsley.

Source: September 2012 Everyday Food. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: I doubled the sauce and added a little cornstarch to thicken it (about 1 teaspoon). I whisked it until smooth and then added the sauce to the pan. I also accidentally added too much thyme. I didn't have fresh thyme (my thyme plant is buried under about a foot of snow), and I was out of dried thyme. Randomly, all I had was ground thyme, so I used that...however, ground thyme has an even more concentrated flavor than dried thyme (hence my suggestions for amounts to use for dried and ground thyme in the recipe above). However, even with too much thyme, this was a fantastic recipe.

I Propose a Toast!

Now, I don't drink alcohol. However, that doesn't mean that the holidays aren't a fun time for fun beverages!

Here are a few family and kid-friendly holiday drinks you might enjoy.

Noel Spritzer

Ingredients:

2 cups apple juice, or sparkling non-alcoholic apple juice (such as Martinelli's)
1 cup chilled cranberry-apple juice drink
1 cup chilled sparkling water
Apple slices, if desired
Fresh mint, if desired

Directions:

Mix apple juice, cranberry-apple juice drink, and sparkling water.

Serve over ice. Garnish with apple slices and mint.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 servings equals 80 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 0 g protein.

Source: Betty Crocker. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: The drink that I took the picture of wasn't measured out...I eyeballed it and as a result, it had a little more cranberry-apple juice than it normally does...so while it still tasted fantastic, it also turned out a little more red in color than normal. However, this is a great and easy drink recipe. It tastes just like those fancy sparkling non-alcoholic juices that you can buy around the holidays, but it is cheaper and there is enough for a crowd.

I usually triple this (at least) and serve it in a punch bowl.

Sparkling Apple Cider and Variations

Ingredients:

2 (64 oz) bottles of 100% apple cider (or 2 cans frozen apple juice concentrate)

1 (2 liter) bottle of Sprite, 7-Up, or Club Soda

Directions:

Mix well in a punch bowl and serve.

Variations:

You can make a Sparkling White Grape Spritzer by using white grape juice/frozen white grape juice concentrate in place of the apple cider/frozen apple juice concentrate.

You can make a Red "Wine" Spritzer by using Concord grape juice/frozen concord grape juice concentrate.

Really, the sky is the limit. You could do this using pretty much any flavor of juice/frozen juice concentrate.

Source: We have done things like this since I was a child...but if you need more ideas, there are a ton floating around Pinterest.

Pineapple Limeade

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

6 cups pineapple juice, chilled

1 cup lime juice

2 liters sparkling water (Club Soda), or lemon-lime soda

Lime slices, for garnish

Directions:

Mix sugar and juices in large plastic or glass pitcher. Pour 1/2 into another pitcher.

Just before serving, stir sparkling water into juice mixture. Serve over ice. Garnish with lime.

Makes 2 pitchers.

Source: My Mom has made this one since we were kids. I don't know where she got it from.

Orange Julius or Fruit Whip

Ingredients:

6 oz. frozen juice concentrate (orange for Orange Julius, or pineapple, raspberry, etc. for Fruit Whip)

1 cup milk

1 cup ice water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

10-12 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Makes 6 cups.

Source: I'm not sure where we got this recipe from...but honestly doesn't everyone have one of these recipes  floating around somewhere? 

Notes: Who doesn't love Orange Julius?

Family Friendly Sangria

Ingredients:

1 quart grape juice

1 quart carbonated lemon-lime beverage (such as Sprite or 7-Up)

3 cups orange juice

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions:

Mix juices and carbonated drink together in a large pitcher or punch bowl. Float slices of orange, lime, and lemon on top. Add ice.

Makes 16 servings (5 1/2 oz. each serving)

Delicious served with Mexican or Spanish food.

Source: I don't remember where I got this one from.

Shirley Temple Punch

Ingredients:

5 cups ginger ale

2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup grenadine

Directions:

Mix ginger ale, orange juice, and grenadine together in a punch bowl.

Garnish with sliced oranges and maraschino cherries.

Serve over ice.

Source: Food Network. Found in their list "50 Holiday Drinks." It is #25. I love these Food Network lists. Seriously, do a search for "50" on Food Network and check out some of these lists. They are awesome! You can find this holiday drink list here.

Non-Alcoholic Firewhiskey

Ingredients:

1 (2-liter) bottle ginger ale

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup cinnamon red hot candies

2 cinnamon sticks, or more, to taste

2 habanero peppers, cut into 6 pieces (wear gloves while handling)

1 (12 fluid ounce) can grapefruit-flavored soda (such as Squirt), or more to taste (optional)

1 drop red food coloring, or enough to make desired color (optional)

Directions:

Combine the ginger ale, ginger, red hot candies, and cinnamon sticks in a large container. Refrigerate until the candies dissolve completely, 8 hours, or overnight.

Add the habanero peppers to the ginger ale mixture for 4 hours, or desired time (depending on your desired taste and heat preference). Remove and discard peppers and ginger root. Add Squirt. Serve over ice in small glasses (shot glasses for fun).

Source: Allrecipes.com submitted by vicimgd. You can find the recipe here. Here is what the recipe creator had to say "A while back I had to make drinks for a Harry Potter Club meeting, but all the recipes I found for firewhiskey involved either hot sauce, alcohol, or both. We were all underage, and carbonated Tabasco doesn't appeal to me, so I created this. We Muggles enjoyed it immensely, and I hope you will too. This goes great with any other Harry Potter-themed food. I made 'Cockroach Clusters,' 'Pumpkin Pasties,' and vegetable wands. Good for cold days as well."

Notes: This was a really fun drink. Sweet and spicy...but not overwhelmingly spicy.

A Different Kind of Soup

As you can see from this blog, I'm a big fan of Mexican chicken soups. However, you can only have them so often...and then you still need some other kind of soups to fill the soup void.

Here is a very quick, easy, tasty, and unique soup recipe I found in my beloved Everyday Food magazine (boo hoo! Did you know that this wonderful magazine is no more? It has been merged into Martha Stewart Living...boo hoo! I'm going to miss that magazine so much! I looked forward to getting it in the mail every month.).

Simple Red Bean-and-Rice Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced small
1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, plus more for serving if you like
5 cups chicken broth
3 cans (15.5 oz each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Salt
1/3 cup converted rice
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and bell pepper and saute until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic and Cajun seasoning and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and season with salt. Simmer until broth is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the top.

Stir in rice and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add scallions and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired. (Refrigerate cooled soup in an airtight container, up to 3 days).

Source: October 2012 issue of Everyday Food...the second to last issue ever...sniff, sniff! You can find the recipe here.

Notes: I didn't have any green bell peppers, but I had yellow ones, so I used one full yellow bell pepper in this soup. Also, I thought the soup turned out plenty spicy without any additional Cajun seasoning, so I only used 4 teaspoons of it. I also used regular cooked rice since I didn't have any converted rice on hand. It worked just fine.

Just a Cute Idea...No Recipe Required

One of the handy things about Pinterest is often you can just find some cute ideas without actually needing a recipe to do it.

This is one of those cute ideas that we found for one of our Christmas-themed deserts.

Snowman Cupcakes

Ingredients:

24 white cupcakes
White frosting
Coarse sanding or decorating sugar
Mini chocolate chips

Orange wedge gummy candies

Directions:

Make cupcakes (either from scratch or using a cake mix according to package directions). After cupcakes have cooled, frost them with your favorite homemade or canned white frosting. Pour sanding or decorating sugar in a bowl. Dip frosted cupcakes into the sugar to coat. Decorate snowman faces with mini chocolate chips. Cut orange wedge gummy candies into smaller wedges for the snowman noses.

Source: Pinterest.

Notes: These were yummy as well as cute and the kids loved them.

Christmas Flavors: Eggnog

Ooooh, eggnog. It's a good thing this stuff only comes around once a year. There are so many recipes to try...and if you made them all year long, you would weigh 1,000 pounds.

I did try a few good ones this year...with plenty left over to try next year...and the year after...and the year after that...

Enjoy the ones I discovered this time around!

Eggnog Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups eggnog
5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups long grain rice
1/2 cup finely chopped red and green candied cherries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place 2 cups eggnog in a heavy saucepan. Combine cornstarch and remaining eggnog until smooth; add to pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in rice, cherries, vanilla, and salt. Spoon into dishes. Chill 2-3 hours. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Nutrition information: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 250 calories, 7 g fat, 56 mg cholesterol, 161 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 5 g protein.

Source: Taste of Home recipe found here.

Notes: I left out the candied cherries. I just don't like competing flavors with my eggnog desserts. I think I will try this again next year and try just a plain pudding version (with no rice) and a tapioca version. I would also suggest cooking the rice with extra water so that the rice is more tender than usual. My rice was well cooked, but I would have preferred it softer to match the texture of the eggnog pudding.

I would also suggest sprinkling this with a little nutmeg. If you like pudding and you like eggnog, you will like this!

Eggnog Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package pound cake mix
1 1/4 cups eggnog (I would suggest 1 1/2 cups)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat all ingredients together at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase speed to medium, and beat 2 minutes. Pour into a lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Source: Southern Living, December 2009. You can find the recipe here.

 

Notes: At first, I was a little disappointed in this recipe because I thought it was a little dry. So, I wrapped it up...and had a piece a few days later and it was fantastic! It just needed a day to sit and a little more moisture. So, the second time I made it, I added more eggnog and topped it with an eggnog glaze. Voila! Problem solved. Delicate flavor and very moist. Delicious. 

Eggnog Glaze

Ingredients:

2 tbsp eggnog
1/2 tsp. rum extract
1-2 cups powdered sugar (enough to reach your desired glaze consistency)

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over cooled eggnog pound cake.  

Eggnog Quick Bread

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup eggnog
2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or three 3x5 inch loaf pans.

Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the vanilla, rum extract, and eggs. Mix in the eggnog. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the eggnog mixture. Stir just enough to moisten. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake large loaf for 40-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Breads baked in the smaller pans require 35-40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil, and store in refrigerator.

Source: Allrecipes.com submitted by Bev. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: We changed up the mixing pattern because they just threw in all the wet at once. I felt like the butter never really did mix in. The way we have written it is a more traditional way of mixing up quick bread.

Eggnog Fruit/Dessert Dip

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups eggnog
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon rum extract, optional
Assorted fruit and pound cake cubes

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the eggnog and cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into eggnog mixture with extract, if desired. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with fruit and cake cubes. Yield: About 2 1/2 cups.

Source: Taste of Home. Recipe found here.

French Toast a la Eggnog

Yield: 2 servings

Nonstick cooking spray
2 eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup eggnog
4 slices thick-cut bread (approx. 1 1/2 inches thick)
Favorite French Toast toppings: fresh fruit slices, syrup, preserves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Evenly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. In shallow dish, beat together eggs and eggnog until well blended. Dip bread in egg mixture, one slice at a time, letting stand 30-45 seconds on each side. Place slices on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn slices. Return to oven and continue baking until lightly browned and no visible liquid egg remains, about 15 minutes.

Source: My Mom found this one years ago. I have no idea where she got it from.