soup

Potato Bacon Soup

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

I honestly don’t know where I got the recipe for this one from… I think it was somewhere on the Internet, but I never wrote it down. It was absolutely delish!

Potato Bacon Soup
Potato Bacon Soup

Ingredients

4-6 medium Russet potatoes, unpeeled & scrubbed (note: next time I make this I’m peeling them)

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 3/4 inch

1 cup chopped yellow onion

3-4 tablespoons flour

1 can evaporated milk

1-2 cups milk

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.

While potatoes are cooking, in a large Dutch oven or pot, brown bacon over medium or medium-high heat. Transfer bacon to paper towel to drain. Empty all but 3 tablespoons of bacon grease from Dutch oven.

Add onion to Dutch oven and sauté until softened and browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in flour until well mixed with onion, creating a paste. Slowly stir in evaporated milk, until entirely incorporated. (If it becomes too thick, add a little milk.) Once a light sauce-like consistency is reached (3 or 4 minutes), add cooked potatoes, hot sauce, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Add milk until soup reaches desired consistency, stirring constantly. (You may have leftover milk.)

Simmer 30 minutes over low heat, adding more milk if mixture becomes too thick.

Remove soup from heat. Stir in grated Cheddar and three-fourths of the cooked bacon. Ladle into bowls, topping with Cheddar and remaining bacon. Serve hot.

Winter Minestrone Soup with Garlic Bruschetta

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

Today I decided to try another Pinterest recipe. I wanted something hearty and wintery. This soup was just the ticket – Mike and I both went back for seconds! The garlic bruschetta was super easy and a really nice addition.

Enjoy!

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Winter Minestrone with Garlic Bruschetta

Ingredients

olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups (1/2-inch) diced carrots (3 carrots)
2 cups (1/2-inch) diced celery (3 stalks)
2 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) diced peeled butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
26 ounces canned tomatoes
6 to 8 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked small pasta, such as tubetti
8 to 10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup good dry white wine
2 tablespoons store-bought pesto
1 baguette

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to directions, set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 table-spoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Discard the bay leaf. Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Stir in the wine and pesto. Serve with bruschetta.

To make bruschetta, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the baguette at a 45-degree angle in 1/2 inch-thick slices. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil and bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Take the slices out of the oven and rub the surface of each one with the cut clove of garlic.