Loaded Potato Soup

It's been a while since I've paid this blog any attention. Ok, a while may be an understatement. I've had thoughts about a great revival, with a promise to myself to actually take the time to write a couple of posts a week. But, those were short lived. It's taken a back seat to other import things in my life, like the garden, chickens, turkeys, ducks, Netflix....

Being realistic about my latest Netflix obsession, Grey's Anatomy (I know, I'm way late on that train), I figure I can squeeze in a few posts here and there. And honestly, I kind of use this blog as my own recipe book. Many times I've made a dish and thought about blogging about it because it was so tasty, but then I don't because we bring home baby ducks, or peas need to be picked from the garden, or season 2 of Orange is the New Black is released. And then six months later, I can't remember how I made it and I'm full of regret. So for now, I'm going to make an effort to push out at least one post a week, but no promises!

We had a decent potato harvest this year (more on that later), so I've been digging into lots of potato recipes. Surprisingly, Loaded Potato Soup has been the favorite of my husband and stepson. They're not really "soup guys", but they liked this a lot and it's very filling. I will definitely make it again this winter!

Red and purple potatoes 

Loaded Potato Soup

3 T butter

3 T + 1 t Flour

2 T green onions, sliced thin

1 T dried dill

½ lb ham cubes

4 ½  cups milk

½ lb bacon ends, or thick slice bacon cut into pieces

1 ½  c shredded cheese (I used Colby jack)

1 T dried parsley

1 lb to 1 ½ lb peeled and cooked potatoes (I made potato skins the night before, so I had scooped out the insides and saved those for the soup)

Salt and Pepper

Saute 1 T green onions in butter until they are soft (just a minute or so). Add in flour and cook on low until it forms a thick paste and slightly browns. While that is going, cook the bacon in a separate pan. When the flour/butter/onion mixture is slightly brown, add in the milk all at once and stir well to break up the clumps and add in the cooked potatoes. When the milk starts steaming, add in the ham, dill, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer on low until it starts to thicken. When it starts to thicken, add in ½ of the bacon and 1 c of the cheese. Stir well and continue to simmer until thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, cheese and green onions. I probably would have liked it better without the ham, but everyone else wanted it. If I left out the ham, I would add in some chicken stock and reduce the amount of milk-maybe ½ c-and I would add the chicken stock to the browned flour/butter mixture before adding the milk. 

We ended up with around 50 lbs of potatoes, so I imagine we'll be checking out some other potato recipes this fall and winter. Any suggestions?