Simply Wizardress

Many years ago, (and by  many I mean more than 20) I had this amazing cup of baked potato soup at a restaurant.   I fell in love with that soup, and was determined that I could make it myself.   It literally tasted like a loaded baked potato in the form of a soup.   

It took me many tries, but I finally perfected that recipe.  It’s a long process, and it’s truly sinfully delicious.  In fact, so sinful that I haven’t made it in years (think heavy cream sinful) but I think when Marcel and I go home this year, I’m going to make it.

The soup recipe below is NOT that recipe.  In fact, this is one I stole  borrowed  from an email I received from Oprah (Bet y’all didn’t know we shared recipes did ya?-  Ok, so it was from a mailing list from her website.  Let’s not get technical.) and I decided that this is one I could make without really robbing the calorie bank.   I”m going to make this soup this week and attempt to make it healthier for myself by cooking the onions in olive oil instead of bacon grease.  Trust me, I know it won’t taste the same.  Us girls from the south know that everything tastes better when it’s cooked in bacon grease, but I’m trying to keep the arteries healthy.

One thing I don’t have is an immersion blender, and that is on my list this year for my birthday.   How I’ve ever gone without one is beyond me, but it’s about time I made the investment.  Provided I can wait until July to get one. 

Here in the land of Never- things are still cold, so soup is just what the doctor ordered.

• 6 strips bacon
• 1 large onion , chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 large cloves garlic , chopped
• 3 pounds unpeeled russet or baking potatoes (about 4 potatoes), cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped chives

Directions:

Drain from the pot all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add onion and increase heat to medium. Cook until golden, about 12 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

With an immersion blender, puree soup until chunky-smooth (or puree in batches in a food processor fitted with knife blade). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, in bowls, topped with bacon bits, sour cream, Cheddar cheese and chives.

Another Saturday has rolled around and that means it’s time for yet another soup recipe. If I order soup when I am at a restaurant, probably 8 out of 10 times I’ll order the onion soup. I’ve never made it at home, but it is one of my absolute favorites if it’s made right. I came across this recipe and thought I’d share it with y’all and I may try to make it at home either this week or next and serve it with a small salad.

Classic Onion Soup with Gruyere

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and preheat broiler.

Melt butter and oil together in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook 10 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add port and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add broth and Parmesan rind and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind and ladle soup into oven-proof bowls. Place bowls on a baking sheet. Place reserved bread rounds or a sourdough round into each bowl and top bread with Gruyere cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

This recipe courtesy of Food Network

Since I was gone most of the day today celebrating birthday’s with friends, I can honestly say that it wasn’t a Soup Saturday in this household. Instead, we had left overs from last night. I thought about sharing my baked potato soup recipe, but that would actually mean getting up, finding the recipe in the book of recipes that I’ve written over time, and right now I’m too comfortable to do that- so instead, you’ll get Creamy Split Pea soup.

I’ll have to admit that I haven’t made this, and based on the heavy cream, it obviously isn’t for those wanting a ‘light’ low-cal soup for lunch or dinner, but I bet it would make for great winter comfort food. Serve it with some hot whole-grain bread and talk about MMMmmm MMmmm Good!

Let me know if you make it, and what your verdict is.

Creamy Split Pea Soup

1/2 pound sliced bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 pound dried green split peas
2 quarts water
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups diced fully cooked ham
2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels; drain, reserving drippings. Add onion and celery to drippings. Saute until vegetables are tender; drain. Add the peas, water, potatoes, ham, salt, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until peas are very tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf.

2. Cool slightly. Process in small batches in a blender until smooth. Return to Dutch oven; stir in cream. Heat through (do not boil). Garnish with reserved bacon.

Thanks to AllRecipes.com for the recipe.

I realized a little while ago that I didn’t even share a soup recipe last Saturday. Shame on me. Anyway- I visited my friend Bobbi this past Tuesday and she had made us some fabulous soup for lunch. She was kind enough to share the recipe, and I made the soup two days ago. I have to say, that I absolutely love the flavor of this soup, and have added it to one of my ‘go to’ soups when I need something flavorful and quick. Because Marcel likes meat, I did add two boneless skinless chicken breasts that I chopped into small pieces. It was good, but I do prefer it without the chicken.

Red Pepper and Buttermilk Soup

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 red bell peppers roasted, peeled, seeded and coarsley chopped (I doubled the recipe)
• 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup buttermilk (it calls for organic, I used regular)
• Cayenne pepper to taste- I should have added more, because I like spice.
• Salt to taste (I didn’t add salt, because I felt that the stock had enough salt.

1. Roast the peppers. You can rotate them over a gas burner until black- charred and then allow them to cool and rub off the skin. (Because I don’t have a gas stove, I roasted mine under the broiler in the oven) Plus if you don’t want to roast them, you don’t have to. You can just soften them by cooking them with the shallots, but the roasting gives it a deeper, richer flavor.





2. Saute shallots in olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat until soft.



3. Stir in peppers and stock with shallots.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Puree in batches (I tried to do it all in one batch and it made a mess. Ooops) in the blender until smooth. Take caution with hot liquids in the blender that you don’t burn yourself.
6. Return to pot and add buttermilk, cayenne and salt to taste.
7. Serve in bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Since we are in the midst of Winter and I think I could eat soup every day during the winter months, I decided to start something new called Soup Saturday. Every Saturday, I’ll share with you a new soup recipe that you may or may not want to try. Since I know many of us are busy and our idea of soup is opening a can of Campbell’s, I thought I’d share one that can be made in the crock pot. Technically, I guess they can all be made in the crock pot, but I think this one is specifically designed for crock pot cooking.

I haven’t tried it, but it’s going to be on my menu for this coming week. The ingredients remind me a great deal of my moms veggie soup, which is delish!

Slow Cooker Fresh Vegetable Beef-Barley Soup

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1 small bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup 1-inch pieces green beans
3/4 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup uncooked barley
2/3 cup fresh whole kernel corn
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 cups Progresso® beef flavored broth (from 32-ounce carton)
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1. Mix all ingredients in 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours (or high heat setting 4 to 5 hours) or until vegetables and barley are tender.

Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.
(Total time will vary with appliance and setting.)