Loaded Potato Soup

I remember the first time I ever had loaded bake potato soup it was days before my wedding and my mom, sister and I were out running last minute errands for the big day. We decided to stop at Chili's for lunch and on the menu was unlimited Caesar salad and loaded baked potato soup. I was so excited, in fact, never before had I been so excited for soup and salad. Okay, okay, I know I could have probably eaten a Thanksgiving day meal for the amount of calories these glorious bowls contained but it was just SO worth it. The sad part is that the closest Chili's to my house is an hour away! I guess that helps me have it only as a treat ;(

Anyways, in my continued love for Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade magazine, I came across this super simple recipe for loaded potato soup. Now, this soup was pretty dang good and easy, however, I managed to make it about as difficult as possible! I HATE cooking bacon and for all those who know me can attest to this little fact. I hate that it splatters, I hate the greasy clean up and I HATE HATE HATE the smell it leaves in the house! Wow, that's a whole lotta hate, but I LOVE to eat it, so there lies the problem.

I usually cook bacon on my electric skillet because I can cook alot, scrape off the grease (cuts down on splatter) and slightly reduces the smell when I cook it on low heat. Well this recipe called for some of the grease to be reserved and to cut down on dishes, I just cooked it in the large pot. Well, I had a friend walking through the door (with her newborn!!) and a general lack of experience with frying bacon in its grease, which resulted in very burnt bacon in about .2 seconds. Bummer! I actually said, 'screw the soup,' and went to see the baby!

Well, round two was for supper that night when I decided to attempt it again as I had really been looking forward to this soup for weeks! This time it went much better, came out with perfectly cooked bacon, but the brain child that I am, forgot that bacon grease holds it's heat very well and after letting it cool for a mear couple seconds, I inserted my PLASTIC measuring spoon to reserve the grease. Smart, right? Needless to say, I am now left with an oblong spoon instead of a circle.

I don't mean to give this soup a hard time because all the faults were my own but oofta, when your head isn't in the right place, it's time to get out of the kitchen! Next time I make this soup, I plan to cut the potatoes up into 3-4 pieces so it will be more soup like and less like potatoes with gravy.

Loaded Potato Soup

Source: Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade Oct/Nov 2009

Ingredients:

6 bacon slices

1/4 cup green onion

1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth

1 cup sour cream

1 cup whole milk

1 (20 ounce) bag red potato wedges, Simply Potatoes brand

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped fresh chives and sour cream

Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon until crisp; remove bacon; and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pot. Crumble bacon.

2. Cook green onion in hot drippings over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, or until tender. Add broth. Whisk in sour cream and milk. Add potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Top with crumbled bacon, and, if desired, garnish with shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped chives and sour cream.