Disney's Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I guess I should get back to this blogging business! It's been a long time, and I've sort of been stuck in a cooking rut. I've made a few new things here and there, but nothing felt blog worthy. I will play catch up to what I've missed and hopefully now that it's getting warmer, I'll get excited to try new things again!

After a week long vacation to Disneyland with my family, I thought I would share some tasty Disneyland favorites!



Disney's Loaded Baked Potato Soup
(Thank you Disney Parks Blog! Original recipe can be found here)

Serves 6

1 pound bacon, roughly chopped (I found this to be optional. Maybe because I am a vegetarian. :) I just cooked some on the side for my husband and kids and let it be a topping)
**4 Tbsp butter ** (Because I omitted the bacon from the actual recipe and used it as a topping instead, I needed a fat for the veggies to cook in and the flour to combine with to make a roux. I used butter instead.)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 medium red potatoes, diced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
4 cups heavy whipping cream (Okay...I did try this the first time, but had a hard time eating it knowing how much cream was in it. The next time I went down one step and used half and half and couldn't even tell the difference. Next time I am just going to use milk. It has a roux in it so it will thicken up nicely)

Optional garnishes: chopped chives, bacon bits, sour cream, shredded cheese and scallions

1. In a 6-8 quart stock pot over medium heat, fry bacon until crisp (or melt butter if using butter instead)
2. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving half for garnish. In bacon fat, cook onions, carrots and celery until the onions are translucent. Add potatoes and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Whisk in flour and stir constantly over low heat until the flour is cooked and the mixture has thickened slightly, (about 5-7 minutes). Add stock and half the bacon. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Over medium-high heat, bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Mash some of the potatoes for a thicker, creamier texture. Add the cream (or half and half/milk) and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust thickness by adding water or stock. Soup should have a creamy consistency.
6. Season to taste and garnish with toppings.

Vegetarian Chili

As cold, rainy, perfectly crisp fall weather approaches, I tend to want more soups and warming comfort foods. Last night just happened to be a "I think we should have chili and cornbread" day. This chili was delicious and totally filling! You won't even miss the meat.




Vegetarian Chili
(Adapted from Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch's "Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking"

Makes 6-8 servings

2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (about 3 small onions)
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2-3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (about 5 large), stemmed, wiped clean and cubed {I only used 2 and it turned out really good}
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped {Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to peel my tomatoes, so I just seeded and chopped them and they worked fine for me}
3 cups cooked black beans (or 2 15-ounce cans of black beans), rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (Do not add to the pot if you're planning to freeze chili)

**Optional toppings: cooked brown rice, sour cream, greek yogurt, cheese, diced avocado, chopped green onions (scallions)**

1. In a large, heavy pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic and serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the zucchini, corn and mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes.
4. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Stir in the tomatoes.
6. Add the black beans, tomato sauce and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
8. To serve, place 1/4 cup of brown rice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the chili over the rice and top with whatever garnishes you choose.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Black Bean Stew

Black Bean Stew
(Thanks for the recipe Debbie!)

Ingredients:
1 large diced onion
1-3 minced cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cans chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 small can diced green chilies
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes (plain flavor)
1 (28 oz) can (or two 16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
Cooked rice (I used brown)
Cilantro, chopped
Avocado, diced
Sour cream
Lime slices

1. In a dutch oven, saute onion, garlic and pepper flakes in olive oil. Add herbs, broth and chilies and bring to boil.
2. Add tomatoes and beans. Simmer one hour.
3. Remove 1/2 of stew, cool slightly and puree until smooth. Add pureed mixture back into pot and stir to combine.
4. Serve stew over rice with fresh cilantro, avocado, sour cream and lime slices.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

'Tis the season for soups! I love rainy days or crisp fall days. They make the perfect day for a nice hot bowl of homemade soup. I decided to try a new one tonight and wasn't disappointed. It was pretty tasty. I may change it a little next time I make it, but it wasn't bad for a first time attempt.





Broccoli Cheese Soup
(Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)
*I altered this recipe from the original*

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1 medium carrot, minced (about 1/3 cup)
1 small rib celery, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 medium clove garlic, minced
4 Tbsp unbleached all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups stock (chicken or veggie)
2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 bay leaf
pinch cayenne pepper
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3 cups) *I didn't have sharp cheese, so I used colby jack and added a couple of handfuls extra, it tasted just fine*
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves or about 1 tsp dried

(The soup pictured does not have any carrots because I was feeding someone who was allergic to them)

1. Heat butter in a large soup pan or heavy bottom dutch oven over medium high heat until foaming. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 4 minutes). Add carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute). Add flour and cook, stirring to coat the veggies until mixture begins to brown on the bottom of the pot (about 2 minutes). Gradually whisk in stock and milk and add bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until vegetables soften (about 10 minutes).

2. While vegetables are simmering chop up some broccoli into bite size florets (I also dice up the stems too) and put into a deep frying pan with a little bit of water and cover. Steam until they are bright green and still have a bit of a crunch to them. Drain and set aside.

3. Off heat add cayenne to the soup. Cool the soup for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the cheese and thyme; season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately! (Mine needed a little extra cheese because I didn't have any sharp cheese so I just added more to taste).

Zucchini Soup

During the summer I always have more than enough zucchini from my garden, plus my neighbor always gives me some of his as well. You can only make so much zucchini bread before it becomes too much so I thought I'd try something new.
My 2 1/2 year old is a super picky veggie eater but LOVES soup! I love to make him soups that are chuck full of veggies and puree them so that he has no idea they are in there but will eat a huge bowl of it and love it. This soup was no exception. He loves bacon which helped but he ate a huge bowl of this soup. It really is delicious for such a simple soup.




Zucchini Soup
(Courtesy of sisterscafe.blogspot.com)
*I altered this recipe slightly from the original*


1 cup chopped onions
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups chicken broth (I used veggie bouillon cubes in water)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup half and half or milk will work fine
*Optional garnishes*
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Bacon cooked crisp and then crumbled

In a large saucepan cook onions in melted butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and sliced zucchini. Stir. Add broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender (about 15 minutes). Cool slightly. Pour mixture into blender and puree it. Stir in half and half or milk. Return to saucepan and reheat, but do not boil. Taste to test seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and bacon bits.
Makes 6 small servings.

Hearty Beef Stew

Hearty Beef Stew
Ingredients:
3 pounds chuck-eye roast, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped coarse (about 2 cups)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup red wine - alcohol will cook out (If you don't want to add this, add 1 cup extra stock)
2 cups beef or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
6 small yellow or red potatoes, halved or quartered depending on how big they are
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place beef cubes in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. In a large cast iron skillet or a large soup pot, heat 2 Tbsp oil. Add beef in two separate batches. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining tablespoon of oil if needed. Remove meat and set aside. (If using a cast iron skillet, move meat into a soup pot). Add onions to now empty pan, saute until almost softened, 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic. Continue to saute about 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour, cook until lightly colored (about 1-2 minutes). Add wine, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to the pan. Add stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to simmer. Add meat, return to a simmer. Cover and place in oven. Simmer in oven for 1 hour.
2. Remove pot from oven, add potatoes and carrots. Cover and return to oven. Simmer until meat is just tender, about 1 hour. Remove stew from oven. (Can be cooled, covered and refrigerated up to 3 days)
3. Add peas and allow to stand 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cups flour
6 cups milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (Optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Pierce potatoes with a fork, bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes, coarsely mash. Discard skins.
3. Put flour in a large pot gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until milk starts to thicken. Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in sour cream and most of the green onions (only save a few for a garnish). Cook over low heat until heated all the way through.
5. Ladle into a bowl and top with cheese, onions and bacon

Squash Soup with an Apple Cranberry Relish

This soup is super delicious and has a different flavor than just a pureed squash soup!





Squash Soup

Ingredients:
6 cups (about 2 large squash - either acorn or butternut), cut in half and seeds removed
Melted butter, for brushing
1 Tbsp kosher salt, plus 1 tsp
1 tsp freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 tsp (black will work if you don't have white, it will just leave black spots in your soup)
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 Tbsp honey
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 ounces heavy cream (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30-35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender or a food processor (a blender would probably work too). Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. (Taste it, you may need to add more salt or pepper)




Relish Topping

Ingredients:
1 crisp apple (Mcintosh or Granny Smith) finely chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


When the soup is finished and ready to be served, top with a small scoopful of the relish.

Turkey noodle soup

Turkey Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
Roasted cooked turkey, diced
2-4 carrots, peeled and diced
2-4 celery stocks, diced
1 onion, diced
Turkey stock (or water will work, but you will need a base)
Dried homemade (store bought) egg noodles
Ground sage
Thyme leaves
Salt
Turkey base (only if your stock needs more flavor or if you're using water)

Bring your stock to a boil (or water with base added to make a stock) and add vegetables to simmer until cooked. When they are starting to get tender, add turkey. Add noodles and cook until they are tender, but not mushy. (If you made a thick soup like I did, pull the veggies and turkey out and set aside while your noodles cook and add them back in at the end so the noodles have liquid to cook in).

Once everything is cooked and in the pot, season with salt (if needed. If you're using a base, they are really salty already so check before you add extra salt), add a little ground sage and some thyme leaves.


Just a twist on a classic chicken noodle soup

Super fast chili

Super fast chili

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger, browned (Optional)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn (not creamed), drained
1 can diced tomatoes (the bigger can, I can't remember the size - Do not drain)
1 onion, diced (or dried onions if you would prefer those)
Beef Stock (if using hamburger, if not you can use chicken if you want)
Tomato paste
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper (Optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and saute onions and put them in a large stock pot. Add beans, corn and tomatoes. Add beef stock to cover the vegetables. (If you like it thick, just barely cover them, or if you like it more runny add a little extra) Put in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and about 2 palmfuls of chili powder. If you like a little kick, add a couple sprinkles of cayenne over the top. Season with salt and pepper and heat to boiling. As soon as it's warm, it's finished.

Potato Soup

On rainy days like today, this soup is awesome! Serve it with rolls or some bread and it's the perfect cold weather meal. I add tons of extra veggies, and when the soup is blended you won't even notice them. It's a good way to get kids to eat vegetables without knowing they are there.


Awesome Potato Soup (Huge batch for leftovers)

Ingredients:
10 potatoes, diced
2 onions, diced
4-5 carrots, diced
5-6 stalks celery, diced
6 bullion cubes (I use vegetable flavored)
1 palmful of parsley flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cube of butter
1/2 cup - 1 cup heavy cream (this depends on how much soup you are making. If you make a tiny batch, just use a very small amount)
6 or so cups of water (eye ball this...this will depend on how many vegetables you add)
Salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper (Optional, but I like mine with a bit of a kick in it)

Variations:
Add about 1 cup of diced ham when cooking the vegetables or 1/2 pound of browned hamburgers. Also really good with fresh corn cut off the cob or 1 or 2 cans of corn. Adding corn makes it more like a potato corn chowder! Yum!!
Also very good topped with cheese!

Put all the diced vegetables into a big pot, add bay leaves, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne (if wanted), garlic and bullion cubes. Cover vegetables with water until they are just barely covered. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add butter and heavy cream. (You only need a little bit of the cream. Blending it all together will help make it creamy) Remove from heat.

Put half or more of the soup in the blender and blend to puree it. Add back to the pot and stir it in. This will make it creamy but leave some chunks from the vegetables as well.

Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp flour
2 (8 ounce) bottles clam juice
4 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams, drain and reserve clam juice
1 cup water
6 russet potatoes scrubbed and diced medium
3 carrots
3 sticks celery
1/2 stick butter
3 large bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Saute onions and garlic until softened. Add flour, whisk in and let cook for about 1 minute or until lightly colored. Gradually whisk in bottled clam juice, reserved clam juice and water. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, bay leaves and thyme. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Don't overcook the potatoes or they will become mushy after adding the cream and bringing to a simmer. Add clams, cream, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. (Be careful not to oversalt!) bring to a simmer, remove from heat and serve.

I served mine with dinner rolls. Yum!