October 10, 2010

Kwille's Loaded Potato Soup

Kwille doesn't cook often, but when he does he goes all out. Last year we created Kwille's Chili recipe which was a winner with our families. This year Kwille decided he wanted to make potato soup, so he found a recipe he liked and together we made a few changes to liven up the recipe.  This goes great with my Honey Wheat Beer Bread.  This also gave me a chance to use my brand new stock pot!



You'll Need:
  • 2.5 lbs Potatoes
  • Half of a large sweet onion
  • 1/2 lb Bacon
  • 3 Celery Stalks
  • 2 cups Carrots
  • 10 cups Water
  • 8-10 Bouillon cubes (Chicken flavor)
  • 3 Garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1.5 tsp Salt
  • 1.5 tsp Pepper
  • 2 tsp Basil leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper 
  • 2-3 tsp Hot Sauce
  • 1/2 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter

Steps:
  1. Cook the bacon in a skillet, while the bacon is cooking you can cut up your vegetables.
  2. Once the bacon is done, set it aside, you won't need it until later. Add the celery, onion, carrots, and potatoes to a good sized pot.
  3. Add the water (we measured 10 - that gave us plenty of water to boil off without drying out any of the vegetables). Boil uncovered until a rolling boil occurs.
  4. Add the bouillon cubes, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, crushed red pepper, and hot sauce. Turn the heat down to create a light boil and cover the pot. Boil for 2-3 hours (until potatoes are soft but not mushy).
  5. Add bacon, cream, cheese and butter. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Kwille peeling the potatoes.