Comfort Food at its Best!

Yesterday we used up the last of the bread. Often, I will send frozen burritos in the kids' lunches at school, but Tuesdays are gym days, and they are not allowed to bring food that needs to be warmed up. So, after the Missions Conference last night, guess what I was doing? Making bread! Everything was going along quite smoothly. I let the bread rest, I divided it into loaves, let it rise again, and put it in the oven around 11:30. Now I just needed to wait 30 minutes for it to bake. No Problem! At 3:00 Chad woke me up. I looked frantically around and said, "The bread's burnt!" Oh, no!

Isn't it lovely?

Derek thought the burnt loaves made great drums!

Baked Potato Soup

Well, I promised that I would post my recipe for Baked Potato Soup, so here it is. We just love it, but I don't make it often because, as you will see, it really isn't good for you at all. But it sure is yummy!

5 medium baking potatoes

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I cut the bacon with kitchen shears prior to cooking it.)

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2/3 cup flour

6 quarts chicken stock (or water with boullion added)

2 cups half and half (milk works fine)

1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 2 T. dried)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (I omit this because I'm not partial to the flavor.)

1 teaspoon salt (taste it first, usually not necessary)

1 teaspoon pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup green onions, sliced

1. Wash potatoes; several times with fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until done; let cool. (I like to bake the potatoes first thing in the morning or even the night before and chill in the refrigerator. They are much easier to work with if they are cold.)

2. Cook bacon in a large dutch oven until crisp; remove bacon, reserve drippings in dutch oven. Crumble bacon and set aside.

3. Cook onion in drippings, stirring constantly, until tender; add flour, stirring well. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken broth; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in potato, half-and-half and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes (do not boil). Stir in 1 cup cheese and 1/4 cup green onions. (I do not put the green onions in the soup, though I love them, because my children don't prefer them.) Cook until cheese melts, stirring often.

4. Ladle soup into individual soup bowls. Top evenly with crumbled bacon. Sprinkle evenly with cheese, green onions, and parsley, if desired.

We do not use green onions at all, though it is very good with it. If you prefer heat, you could add 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce to the soup. We also do not top with parsley. We serve it with homemade bread, which you can find here, and a tossed salad. Delicious!