Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I am really enjoying soup weather! Although someone forgot to tell the roses that are in bloom behind my house that summer's over. Since learning the secret to making my own easy, delicious, crock pot chicken stock I am taking full advantage of it. My first thought when chicken is planned has been of stock and what kind(?) of soup will inevitably follow. This time I was dreaming of a hearty and warming potato soup brimming with flavor and starring lots of potatoes. Stick-to-your-ribs-filling and high on the comfort scale.


If you love loaded baked potatoes you will love this. Maybe even more so. I do. Incredibly creamy and thick, it is just like a real baked potato, only better. I chose this over the real thing any day of the week. The soup is a very light but rich caramel color from the bacon fronds being lifted off the bottom of the pan and it's speckled with fragrant rosemary, thyme and parsley. I used evaporated milk and a cornstarch slurry to make it extra creamy and thick enough to hold up the toppings. The usual, indulgent toppings you associate with a loaded baked potato; bacon, cheese, green onions, and sour cream. Broccoli to ease any guilt. Your family will love it and kids will have fun choosing their own toppings. I know because this was a big hit in my house; spoons were licked clean and dishes were scraped of every last little precious bite.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

(by Reeni)(makes 5-6 bowls)

10 slices Bacon

1 Yellow Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 tablespoon white vinegar

7 cups cubed Potatoes, skins on(Yukon Gold/all-purpose or a boiling potato like red or yellow)

6 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1 tablespoon fresh chopped Parsley

1 teaspoon Thyme

1 teaspoon Rosemary

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 can(14 oz.) Evaporated Milk

2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Toppings:

Steamed broccoli florets

Sour cream

Shredded Sharp Cheddar

Chopped green onions

Crumbled bacon

Butter

1. In a large saucepan or soup pot fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside. Remove all but two tablespoons of the bacon grease. Saute the onions until tender and translucent. Add the garlic saute until fragrant. Add the vinegar to deglaze the bottom of the pan.

2. Add the potatoes, broth, parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Steam the broccoli in a steamer pan until tender.

3. Remove 2 cups of potatoes and smash with a fork or potato smasher. Add back to pan along with the evaporated milk. Bring back to a simmer. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if needed.

4. In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch and cold water. Slowly stir the mixture into the soup.

5. Simmer for five minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for five minutes before serving to allow it to thicken further. Crumble the bacon.

6. Serve with toppings.

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Shrimp & Green Chile Quiche

The moment I read the title of this recipe I knew I would be making it. The very same night. It's so unique and unlike any quiche I've ever eaten. For those of you who have never eaten quiche they are French in origin and are essentially a savory egg pie. Eggs and cream along with the star ingredients of your choosing are baked in a buttery pastry. The cream adds a richness and the eggs a light and fluffy quality. I love the mild spicy kick the green Chiles give to this one and the succulent flavor and texture of the shrimp with the creamy, buttery eggs. I can see it on a brunch table as part of a relaxing weekend breakfast. And it was just perfect served with a fresh green salad for dinner. Any time is the right time to serve this delicious quiche!






Shrimp & Green Chile Quiche
(adapted from Step by Step Cookbook)

Pastry:
2/3 cup all-purpose Flour
1/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour
pinch of Salt
4 tablespoons Butter, cold, diced
2-4 tablespoons cold Water

Filling:
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
3 Green Onions, chopped
1 can(4 oz.) diced Green Chiles
8 ounces cooked shrimp* tails off
Salt

1. Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medium sized mixing bowl or in a food processor pulse once or twice.

2. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or in a food processor until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3. Mix in the water gradually until the pastry comes together in a ball.

4. Wrap the pastry well and chill for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

6. Fold the pastry in half and then in half again, transfer to a 9-inch pie or tart dish. Cut away any excess with kitchen shears or by rolling the rolling pin over the top of the dish.

7. Sprinkle the cheese, onion, Chiles, and shrimp over the pastry. In a large bowl beat the eggs, add the milk and cream and beat again just until well incorporated. Mix in the garlic. Pour into pastry.

8. Bake for 50-55 minutes until firm and golden brown. Let set for five minutes before slicing/serving.

*Use fresh shrimp. Frozen will render a soggy, water-laden quiche.

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Chicken Chipotle Tacos & Cool Guacamole

I love the rich, smoky flavor of Chipotle peppers. Once I open a can of them I go slightly crazy adding them to everything I eat until their gone. Eggs, black bean burgers, soup...spaghetti. So it was only natural to combine them with chicken in a sort of reinvention of the standard taco. A little upgrade. No msg-laden seasoning packets needed. Guacamole is a welcome addition to combat the spiciness and this one works well because it is missing it's heat component - jalepenos. It really gives a nice cool contrast to the spiciness. This is great if you have leftover chicken and are short on time. While the chicken is sizzling in the pan you can get your fixin's ready and in no time at all a delicious taco will grace your lips. I know you want one. Or three.





Chicken Chipotle Tacos
(by Reeni)
Makes about 7-8 tacos, depending on size

1 Yellow Onion, diced
Vegetable oil, for sauting
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Chipotle Chiles in Adobo, seeds scraped out, minced, plus 1 tablespoon of the Sauce
3 cups cooked Chicken, rough chopped
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Chile Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt & fresh black pepper
1/4 cup water
Guacamole, recipe to follow
Flour or Corn tortillas
Your choice of fixin's:
Sour cream
Shredded Cheddar or Mixed Mexican Blend Cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced Tomato
Diced Onion
Salsa
Lime wedges

1. Saute the onion in oil until translucent, add garlic and saute until fragrant, add Chipotles and saute for a minute or two.

2. Add chicken, oregano, Chile powder, salt, pepper, and water. Mix well and heat over medium-low heat about 8 - 10 minutes, stirring often.

3. Serve in heated tortillas with fixin's.





Cool Guacamole

2 Avocados, halved, pitted, flesh removed
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Tomato, diced
1 tablespoon Yellow Onion, finely diced
2 teaspoon fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Use a food processor(or mash together in a bowl) to mix the avocado, sour cream, and lime together until smooth and creamy. Remove to a medium bowl and mix in the tomato, onion, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until serving.


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Knife & Fork Barbecue Chicken Pizza

When I was in Elementary school Saturday was designated pizza night at our house. As part of the weekly ritual I would help my Mom make a baking sheet pizza. It was invisibly divided in half. One side for my sister and I - easy on the sauce with extra cheese and the other half for my parents with lots of oregano and extra sauce. Sometimes we had toppings but more often that not it was just lots of cheese. I had an odd pizza ritual. If it was warm weather I would take mine out to the front steps where I proceeded to pull off every last bit of the steaming hot cheese and heap it into a pile on the side of my plate. Then I ate the dough, with the little bit of sauce that was on it, my eyes and thoughts always on the prize. Every bite bringing me closer and closer to that huge lump of molten cheese. I pulled it apart, slowly, piece by rubbery piece, savoring every stringy bite like it was the nectar of the Gods.


I'm grown up now and eat pizza how it's meant to be eaten. Except for this one. This is suitably named because of how difficult it is to pick up and eat like a proper pizza. The toppings are messy and heavy; with a pound of cheese and an equal amount of chicken. It's hearty, filling, and satisfying. Think man-food. It's laden with lavish amounts of ooey-gooey mozzarella; tender hunks of tangy, barbecue chicken; and caramelized peppers and onions. Forks are desperately needed for this smoky, spicy, savory meets sweet pizza treat. And lots of napkins. It takes some time to make and some planning ahead to give the dough time to proof. It's worth the effort. Home-made pizza is hands above better than most take-out pizza. At least in my neck of the woods.





A smoky barbecue sauce that is not real sweet works best. You can swap out a cup of the white flour for wheat in the crust recipe.

Knife & Fork Barbecue Chicken Pizza

(by Reeni)

1 pound pizza dough(recipe to follow or store bought)

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1 pound skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, cooked, rough chopped

Barbecue Sauce, preferably Jack Daniels

Red pepper flakes(optional)

1 small Jar of Tomato Sauce, like Barila

1 teaspoon Oregano

1 pound Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

cornmeal

1. About an hour and a half before you want to prepare your pizza make the pizza dough.

2. When dough has risen punch down in the middle and stretch it out evenly to fit the pan. Allow the dough to rise again for 15-20 minutes. While it's rising prep the rest of your ingredients.

3. Coat a large baking sheet with Olive oil. Dust with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

4. In a large skillet saute the pepper and onion in olive oil over medium-low heat until soft and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.

5. Add the chicken breast and enough barbecue sauce to coat it all. [Add red pepper flakes if desired]. Combine well. Allow to cook for a few minutes, giving it a stir every now and then to let the sauce caramelize a little. Remove from heat and set aside.

  

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

7. Spread a nice even layer of tomato sauce over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with oregano.

8. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Then repeat with the chicken mixture.

9. Bake until crust is golden brown on the bottom about 20-22 minutes, checking often. If top becomes too brown before it's cooked through turn down to 425 degrees. Let set five minutes before serving.

Pizza Dough

(adapted from Gourmet)

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)2 and 1/4 to 2 and 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading and dredging

1 cup warm water (105 - 115°F)

1 teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

2. Stir together salt and 1 1/2 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 3/4 cup warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in another 1/2 cup flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough flour (up to 3/4 cup), a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. (This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.)

3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, lightly re-flouring work surface and your hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form into a disc.

4. Grease a large bowl with olive oil and put the dough in. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours. I usually put mine in the oven with the light turned on. The light generates enough warmth for it to rise.

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Do you have any food rituals you want to share?

Just Because I Love You Thanksgiving Feast Giveaway Week Two

It's time for a repeat of my Just Because I Love You Thanksgiving Feast Giveaway!

I'm giving away another set of cookbooks from the Hachette Book Group.



The first book is How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis & Barbara Kafka

The second is Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner & Illustrated by Yonatan Factor

You have five ways to win. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Leave a comment telling me what cookbook is on your wish list. On mine is John Besh - My New Orleans.

2. Follow me with Google Friend Connect or in your reader - if your already a follower just say so.

3. Twitter it and tell me you did - make sure to leave your twitter user name.

4. Stumble it.

5. Blog about it or put a link to it on your sidebar.

I'm sorry - this is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents. No P.O. boxes please.

 Moon Wishes You Luck!

The first weeks winner is...

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2

Timestamp: 2009-11-11 19:59:18 UTC

Congrats to Joie de Vivre!

Julia of Grow. Cook. Eat. is having a Chocolate Giveaway!