Baked Potato Soup

This morning I asked Kris what he would like to eat and he requested a stew…I gave him baked potato soup. Not exactly what he wanted but as I was looking through a cookbook I saw baked potato soup and it just sounded perfect for a lazy Sunday. Plus, I had a half-gallon of whole milk that I bought for a cake (which turned out gross) and I wanted to use it and not let it go to waste. I never have whole milk and it actually pains me to drink or use anything higher than skim because of the unnecessary fat.

After scouring recipes, I noticed some called for baked potatoes, some you cook the potatoes in the milk, and others use chicken broth instead of milk. The recipe I was reading called for making a roux with butter and flour and I knew that I wanted to cut out that fat. I called my mom and she said to just add the flour to the milk and it will have the same thickening effect. Maybe I will try this trick the next time I make macaroni and cheese.

This is an extremely easy recipe and I’m sure can be adapted to your tastes preferences.

Baked Potato Soup (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 4 large baking potatoes (use leftover if you have them, even mashed potatoes)
• 6 cups skim milk (recipe calls for 2% but my skim thickened up just fine)
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• salt – lots of it but do it to taste
• pepper – again to taste
• Garnish with bacon, cheddar cheese, additional green onion

Directions:

• Wash and prick potatoes. Bake at 400F for an hour, or until soft when squeezed. Allow potatoes to cool then scoop into bowl and mash. Do this as coarse or as fine as you want – in order to have some potato chunks in the soup keep it coarse.
• After potatoes have baked, in a stockpot whisk together milk and flour. I added one cup of milk to the flour to get it lump free before added the remaining milk.
• Add celery, salt and pepper to the milk, cooking over medium high to high heat. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Once the milk comes to a boil or is close to a boil it will start to thicken and foam.
• When milk thickens, add in potatoes and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. (taste to determine if more salt/pepper is needed)
• Reduce heat to low and add in green onions and sour cream. Stir until heated through.
• Serve and garnish with bacon, cheese and additional green onions.

Come join Soup-a-Palooza with TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers