Comfort Food



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Thursday night I made baked potato soup in preparation for my office Super Bowl Party, or Souper Bowl as I was calling it.  It was something that I had made before, twice actually, using two different recipes.  The first recipe was based with chicken stock, which turned out to taste pretty good.  The only thing that didn't taste good were the potatoes.  The directions said to cook the potatoes in the soup for a certain amount of time, so once everything was in the pot I put in the potatoes.  The broth was good, but the potatoes were just a little crunchy.
The other recipe was the one I ended up using on Thursday.  It was milk based with LOTS of cheese.  The first time I made it, it was a huge hit.  So why not make it again, right?  I began to get all of the ingredients out and put them on the counter so that everything was easy for me to grab.  I went through to make sure I had enough of everything and realized I was short by 2 cups of milk.  I was thinking of going to our friends for an extra 2 cups, but if I used the 2 cups we already had, we wouldn't have enough for breakfast.  So I went out into the bitter cold, down the street to Wilson Farms to get a gallon of milk. 
When I got home the cooking began.  First, I washed off the potatoes and baked them in the oven at 475 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  The recipe called for 2 large baking potatoes, however, I used 9 smaller potatoes (I like a lot of potato in my soup!).  While they were baking, I chopped up half of a medium sized onion and shredded 8 oz. of cheddar cheese.  When the potatoes were finished, I allowed them to cool, cut them in half, and scooped out the potato.  You can leave the skin on if you wish, and just cut the potato into bite size pieces.  It's all personal preference.  I replaced the potatoes in the oven with 6 slices of BACON!  Everything is better with bacon right?  Seriously.
Put 3 Tbs. of butter into a pot and cooked the onions until they were translucent.  Once they were cooked, I put in the milk, flour, salt, pepper and... dill.  Yes, I said dill.  You don't really taste it but it brings out a little something.  Mix it all together and allow it to cook for 12-15 minutes until bubbling and thick.  You may have to add a little more flour to make it thicken ( I added an extra 2 Tbs.).  Once it bubbles, add the potatoes and cheese.  Stir together and voila, you've got Baked Potato Soup! 
It was a big hit at the office and tasted great.  It was a little heavy with the 9 potatoes, so I think next time I may do 7.  The entire process took about 2 hours, and I highly recommend it if it's cold outside and you need something hearty in your stomach.

Enjoy!