Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup

All I can say is, "un-button your top button" and get ready for some serious indulgence. This soup is (so not healthy for you) comforting, flavorful and should be served warm with your favorite bread. I make the bacon, bake & mash the potatoes, and saute the veggies ahead of time to make dinner assembly a cinch! Hope you love this as much as we do.

10 oz hickory smoked bacon
5 stalks celery finely diced
2 large carrots, peeled, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 cups small cubed ham
32 oz chicken broth (or substitute with veggie broth)
6 oz heavy whipping cream
10 med/lg. potatoes, baked, peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ Cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz sour cream
1 ½ Cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Garnish each bowl with:
dollop of sour cream
sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese
sprinkle of chives
sprinkle of crumbled bacon

1. Heat large pot over medium-high heat. Cut bacon into small pieces and cook until browned and crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard bacon grease, reserving 2 Tablespoons to sauté veggies. Saute celery, carrots, jalapeno, and onion in bacon grease for 10 minutes, stirring often until softened. Stir in garlic and ham; cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in chicken broth and cream.
2. Place mashed potatoes in bowl to mash/mix. Mix while adding salt, pepper and cream. Stir mashed potatoes into soup until combined. Heat for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in sour cream and cheese until smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until ready to serve. Spoon into bowls and garnish.

Split Pea Soup w/ Ham

Found this gem on Southernfood...


1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
1 meaty hambone (you can usually get these for under $8 at Honeybaked Ham, and they are delicious, with tons of extra meat left on)
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 chopped vidalia onion
3 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
1 1/2 qts. hot water (that's 6 cups, people...)

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf, shred meat, and return shredded ham to soup. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired. Serve garnished with croutons or crusty bread. Freezes well.Serves 8.

Crock Pot French Dips

Sorry, I'm lacking pictures lately....Promise to be better.

That said, no picture for this one, sorry.

2-3 lb. chuck roast
2 cans beef broth
1 packet Au Jus seasoning
1 onion, chopped how you like it
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can chopped mushrooms (optional)

Place roast and ingredients in crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. 30 min. before serving, shred and return to juice.

Serve shredded meat on broiled/toasted hoagie buns (broil with your favorite cheese, we like provolone or gruyere), and use the remaining sauce for dipping.

We use all the leftover juice to have French Onion soup the following day. All you need to do is add 1 can of condensed French Onion soup. Warm the mixture together, top with croutons and broil gruyere or swiss cheese on top. Serve with bread.

Creamy Bean Soup & Taquito Dippers by Guest Chef Amy

Start to finish: 30 minutes 4 servings

1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup (from 14 oz can) unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
6 sticks (0.75 oz each) sharp cheddar or chipotle cheddar cheese
1 pkg (10.5 oz) of 12 flour tortillas for tacos & fajitas
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 medium green onions, sliced

Heat oven to 450. Line cookie sheet with foil. In 2-quart saucepan, stir beans, tomatoes, broth, coconut milk, chiles and taco mix; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut each cheese stick in half lengthwise to make 2 thin sticks. Place 1 cheese stick on one edge of each tortilla; roll tortilla tightly around cheese. Brush edges of tortillas with water to seal. Place taquitos, seam sides down, on cookies sheet. Brush each lightly with oil. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until edges of tortillas are golden brown and cheese is melted. Pour soup into serving bowls; garnish with cilantro or onions. Serve with taquitos for dipping.
**Amy’s notes:
--You can find unsweetened coconut milk in the oriental section of the grocery.
--Instead of prepackaged sticks of cheese, I just bought an 8 oz block and cut into thin strips.
--I had Azteca brand tortillas and Kroger brand tortillas. The Azteca sealed well with water. The Kroger brand wouldn’t stick and I had to secure with a toothpick for heating.

White Chicken Chili by Guest Chef Amy

Good news - Amy has almost 2 weeks worth of recipes to share! Here's the first.

White Chicken Chili

Serves 6

2 large chicken breasts
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp cumin
Garlic (to taste)
1 can white kidney beans (undrained)
1 can garbanzo beans (undrained)
1 can white corn (undrained)
1 small can chopped green chilies (undrained)
1 cup chicken broth from can
Salsa
Shredded Monterey jack cheese
Sour cream
Hot pepper sauce
Tortilla chips
Boil chicken for 1 hour. Shred with fork. Combine chicken, onion, cumin, garlic, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, white corn, green chilies and chicken broth in large pot. Cook on low for 1 to 3 hours. Serve with remaining ingredients as toppings.

Lovely Lentil Soup by Guest Chef Emily

** Lentils are a great cheap source of protein and iron**

½ small onion
2 large carrots
2 celery sticks
2 T veg oil
1 c split red lentils (if you can’t find these, other lentils will work)
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
14 fl oz veg or chicken stock
1 lemon
Cilantro to garnish

Chop all the veg. Saute the onion, carrot and celery in the veg oil for about 5 min or until softened. Add the lentils and sweet potato and pour over the stock. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. You can serve like this, or we like to partly puree with blender or mixer. Serve with lemon slices and to squeeze fresh juice on soup.

Delicious served with fresh warm bread!

Black Bean Soup by Guest Chef Nanette

This soup tastes great, and couldn't be easier to make!

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can refried black beans
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
2 cups cubed cooked ham
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
Bunch cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in the refried beans, whole beans, and chicken broth.
Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Mix in ham, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Garnish with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, and cilantro to serve.

African Peanut Soup

Peanut butter and tomatoes may not sound like the best combination. But this soup is excellent! The original recipe also includes rice, but I prefer it without.
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
8 cups vegetable broth or stock
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

Veggie Cheese Soup A' La Crock Pot

1 16 oz. bag frozen veggies (California Medley - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
1 16 oz. bag frozen broccoli
1 can broccoli soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 c. finely chopped onions (or 1/8 c. dried minced onion)
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Pour ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 1-2 hours. Sprinkle with cheese and serve in bread bowl or with crusty french bread. Delish.

Jamie's White Chicken Chili

This recipe is fabulous, and is just like my mom and sister's recipes.

4-5 cans great northern beans
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1-2 lg. onions chopped
1 tsp. garlic chopped
1 can green chilies chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Simmer beans with stock, garlic, onion & chilies for 1.5 hours. Add other ingredients & simmer in crock pot for 30 minutes. Serve with monterrey jack cheese, sour cream, avocado & corn chips.

Potato Chowder

I played around with this recipe and it was simple and easy, and not bad tasting either.

3 c. milk (I used a combo of skim and half and half)
1 can cream of potato soup (condensed)
3 c. frozen, southern style hashbrowns
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 can corn (drained)
2 c. frozen peas
2 TBS. chopped bacon bits
1.5 c. shredded sharp cheddar

Bring milk, onion, and potato soup to a boil. Add frozen hashbrowns, stirring frequently until it returns to a boil. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add corn and peas. Stir. Add bacon bits and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Mel's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Put an entire chicken in your biggest pot and cover it with water. (if you have never cooked a whole chicken before there will be gibblets to remove and the cavity needs to be rinsed and some of them need to have the neck cut off).
You can use whatever size of chicken you want, it just depends on how much soup you want.
Boil the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic, onion and a can of cream of chicken soup until the chicken falls off the bone. (it usually doesn't take more than 2 hours).
Remove chicken and bones then shred the chicken and put it back in the pot.
Add chopped potatoes and carrots, can of corn, peas or green beans...pretty much whatever vegetables you think sound good and bring pot back to a boil.

Noodles:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix, roll out and cut into long strips then put into the pot once the soup is boiling again.
When I made the noodles the other day I added an extra cup of flour and the dough was still sticky so I can't make any guarantees for the noodles. Also, the recipe says to let the noodles dry for hours, but I never do and they still taste okay to me.
The soup is done when the veggies are soft and the noodles are cooked through.

This goes great w/ Mel's homemade scones!

Quick N' Easy Taco Soup

Ingredients:
½ lb. ground beef (browned, drained)
½ onion sliced
28 oz. can stewed or diced tomatoes
15 oz. can kidney beans in liquid
1-2 cans whole corn with liquid
¼ pkg. taco seasoning
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Combine all above ingredients, remembering NOT to drain canned items. Simmer 15-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, lettuce and guacamole.

Easy Vegetable Minestrone

32 oz. can petite diced tomatoes w/ liquid
1 can garbanzo beans (drained)
1 can kidney beans w/ liquid
1 can corn w/ liquid
1 can tomato sauce
1 c. fresh spinach leaves
1 whole zucchini, sliced and diced
1 c. frozen peas
1-2 cloves minced garlic
16 oz. cooked rainbow rotini pasta al dente
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. thyme

Mix above ingredients in large pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer until fresh zucchini and spinach are softened. Serve w/ garlic bread.