Chilly Weather = Hot Soup!

The temperature was beyond frigid in NYC today! To avoid any chance of getting frost bite, I walked as fast as I could just to get out of the cold. AND so I could get home and make soup - from scratch! Exciting, right? It was for me! ;)

For the third night in a row, I am doing something I have never done in the kitchen before. 1st, I cooked with wine, next I made lamb chops and today, I made homemade Baked Potato Soup!

This wasn't the quickest recipe I've ever made, but it was delicious. It also gave me a bigger appreciation for soup, knowing how much effort went into the final product.

Baked Potato Soup

Recipe:

Courtesy of Annie's Eats

4-5 Baking potatoes

4 tbsps butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided

6 cups of 2% milk

2 tsps salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup light sour cream

For Topping:

Sour Cream

Shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped scallions

Bacon pieces

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke potato with end of fork then bake for 45 minutes to and hour. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel off skin and place potatoes into food processor. Pulse until the pieces are broken into small chunks. (If potatoes are soft enough, you can skip the food processor and break potatoes into chunks with a fork. It worked well for me.)

2) In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt the butter, on medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup of flour to the pot and whisk into the butter. Cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

3) Whisk in the milk and the rest of the flour. Cook (still on medium-high heat) until thick and bubbling, about 6-8 minutes.

4) Mix in the potato chunks. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.

5) Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and sour cream.

6) Serve immediately. Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions and bacon as desired.

The soup turned out amazing! It was so filling, I was able to make it my entire meal. If you have a hungry appetite (like my boyfriend,) bake up a few breaded chicken breasts or make a side salad to complete the meal.

This soup definitely helped keep the chill away!