Baked Potato Soup

 This Baked Potato Soup is one of our favorite cold weather meals. It's warm and rich and delicious.

Baked Potato Soup

Six large potatoes

One pound bacon

One leek

Three stalks of celery, including leaves

Three cups of whole milk

One stick of butter

Two cloves garlic

Six cups of chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Two cups grated cheddar

Two cups sour cream

1. Peel, chop, and rinse potatoes. Put in a large soup pot. Add just enough water to cover and boil until soft. Drain and put back in the pot.

2. While potatoes are cooking cut bacon into bits and cook over medium heat until the bacon is crispy and the fat is rendered out. Set bacon bits aside.

3. Dice celery and the white and light green part of the leek (make sure you rinse your leek well to get rid of any dirt!) Add the vegetables and garlic to the bacon grease and cook until wilted.

4. Put the potato pot back over medium heat. Add the butter, milk, and chicken broth to the pot. Add 1/2 of the leek and celery mix to the potatoes. Use an immersion blender to purée soup as smooth as possible. 

5. Add the other half of the leek mixture, half of the bacon, half of the cheese, and half of the sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste (it'll probably need quite a bit of salt.) Stir and cook until hot but not boiling.

6. Serve with the extra bacon, cheese, and sour cream on top.

Baking Bacon

 I'm sure everybody knows how to make a BLT. No recipe needed. I DO have a method for easier bacon though. No mess, no splatter burns, no curled up slices, and no need to stand over the stove and babysit the bacon.

 I bake my bacon. Simply place a pound of bacon on a broiler pan (or on a rack in a cookie sheet) with a little space between the slices and put it in the top half of a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400° F and use the time to slice the tomatoes and leaf the lettuce. If you're using thin bacon it will probably be nearly done when the oven in finished preheating, just give it another minute or so. We chose to get half medium and half thick sliced when we got our pigs processed and prefer thick sliced for our BLTs so it takes about 10 minutes more. 

 The bacon turns out flat, crispy but not brittle, and most of the fat has dripped down into the bottom of the broiler pan. (Don't forget to save that bacon grease! It's great for sautéing green beans.) If you like your bacon floppy cook it a little less, for crispier cook it a little longer. It may smoke a bit, from minor grease spatter hitting the heating element, so open a window or turn on your exhaust fan. 

 That's it! Simple as can be. Now go eat some bacon...

Squash Fritters

 Another popular post from Mama Chicken Says. My absolute favorite recipe for any type of summer squash.

 Here's my recipe for summer squash fritters, it's for all the gardeners that are getting overrun with zucchini and crookneck squash this time of year.

Summer Squash fritters

• 6 small summer squash (zucchini, yellow, or patty pan all work well)
• 3 green onions
• Small handful of fresh parsley
• 2 eggs
• Flour
• Pepper to taste
• Lard (for frying)

 Cut the ends off the squash and grate finely, either using a box grater or a food processor. Place a clean dishrag in a colander and put the whole thing in a bowl. Put a layer of grated squash in the colander and salt heavily. Add another layer of squash and more salt. Repeat, ending with salt and then let sit for an hour.  Several cups of liquid will drain out of the squash, which will make for crispier fritters. After the draining time, pick up the dishcloth and wring out the rest of the liquid out of the squash and put in a bowl. 

 While the salted squash is draining, finely chop the green onions, including the green tops, and the parsley. Add to the drained squash.

 Mix in the eggs and just enough flour to make everything stick together. Add pepper to taste.

 Fry in a cast iron pan (even though I'm using a stainless steel pan in the picture cast iron is better) over medium heat in lard or butter until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and eat while warm. I like to put a small dab of sour cream on mine.

Here it is! Yum yum...

Spicy Pickled Carrots

  This is one of my favorite recipes from Mama Chicken Says, so I thought I'd transfer it over to the cooking blog.


 This week I made a batch (6 quarts) of spicy pickled carrots and half a batch (3 quarts) of pickled jalapeno slices for Mike. He has been missing the carrots that we used to get at the taco shops in San Diego, so I thought I would see if I can make him some.
 Since all the carrots in the garden have been eaten by...something, I told Mike to get me some from the grocery store. He got me 10 pounds, plus some onions and jalapenos. I don't know if they're exactly like the ones from the taco shop, but they are yummy, so I'll share the recipe.

Spicy Pickled Carrots

• 10 pounds carrots
• 2 onions
• 12 jalapenos
• 12 cloves of garlic
• 24 peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
• 6 cups 5% vinegar
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup sea salt

        Wash and prepare the veggies. Slice carrots into 1/4 inch rounds. cut onions into 1/4 inch slices, cut each jalapeno in half, peel the garlic. Wash your canning jars and then pack 1/3 of an onion, 2 jalapenos, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 peppercorns, 1/2 tablespoon of oregano, and as many carrot slices as you can fit, leaving 1/2 inch head space in the jar.
       Add the water, vinegar, and salt to a large, non-reactive pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then pour into the jars, covering the veggies, making sure to leave 1/2 space.
      These can go directly into the fridge or they can be canned in a water bath canner for 15 minutes to be stored at room temperature. For best flavor, wait at least a week before eating.
      Here's a picture of the finished product, cooling on my counter after coming out of the canner.

Pickled carrots and jalapeno slices

      Hope everyone has a great week...Blessed Be


Come check out the Homestead Barn Hop this week.

Mama's Marvelous Meatloaf

 This one is a big hit around here, and I think it's one of my favorites. There's just something about meatloaf that makes me happy. If you're wondering about the name, just know that my kids are big fans of alliteration...

Mama's Marvelous Meatloaf

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 pounds ground pork
• 4 stale hot dog buns (or any other bread)
• 1 whole onion
• 3 stalks of celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dried summer savory
• Dried parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Put ground beef and ground pork in a very large bowl.
3. Puree the onion, celery, and garlic in a food processor. Dump into bowl with meat.
4. Process hot dog buns in the food processor until you have crumbs. Dump crumbs in with meat and veggies. (I use hot dog buns because I always have a few extras in the pantry, feel free to use whatever bread you have on hand.)
5. Add about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
6. Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs to taste.
7. Add egg and mix with your hands until everything is well combined.
8. Shape into two large loaves and place on your broiler pan (this allows the grease to drip through, away from your meatloaves.)
9. Bake for about an hour and serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.
   
   

   

   Here it is with some mashed potatoes and onion gravy, green beans, and homemade dinner rolls

   
   

This will make a LOT of meatloaf. It's enough for 12 people (or 6 people twice, which is the way we do it) with leftovers. It also holds together very well when you cut it, so it's great for meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day.

 I often sneak other veggies in this. Grated squash or carrots are good, but any veggies (grated or finely chopped) will work. I've added up to a cup more veggies without having to add more breadcrumbs or egg.

This recipe also makes great meatballs with just a few substitutions. Replace the summer savory with basil, and add a bit more garlic, roll them up into 2 inch balls and bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, and they are great with spaghetti.

Have a great weekend everyone. Blessed Be...

Homemade Hamburger Helper

 When I was a kid Hamburger Helper was a big part of my diet. I loved it! Once I started cooking (in my teens) I loved it even more. It's fast, it's easy, and it tastes good. This recipe isn't quite as fast as the box but it tastes even better and it doesn't have all of the preservatives and junk.

 This makes a huge batch, enough for seconds plus leftovers for our family of six. If you don't want quite so much it's simple to half the recipe.

Homemade Stroganoff Hamburger Helper

Two pounds of ground beef (or ground pork or turkey)

One pound of dry rotini pasta

One large onion diced

Three stalks of celery diced (including the leaves)

Four cloves garlic, minced

One can of corn, drained

One can of green beans, drained

Six cups of beef broth

1/4 cup flour

Two cups of sour cream

1. Cook pasta in salted water until nearly done. Drain and set aside.

2. While the pasta is cooking add ground beef, celery, garlic, and onions to a Dutch oven. Cook, over medium high heat, until the meat is brown and the vegetables start getting soft. (No picture of this step because Gabe kept stealing the iPad.)

3. Add the flour to the meat and veggies, stirring until the flour begins to brown.

4. Add the broth all at once and stir until slightly thickened. Add the green beans and corn. Remove from heat.

5. Stir in the sour cream.

6. Add the pasta, stir everything together, bake at 350° F for 30 minutes, and enjoy!

Menu Monday (actually Sunday, but it doesn't really matter!)

I worked up my weekly menu before the hubby took the kids grocery shopping (yes, he really does take all four kids to the grocery store by himself, AND he doesn't lose his mind in the proces!) Here it is. If y'all let me know which recipes you'd like to see I will get to work posting them.

Menu 11/17-11/23

Sunday- BLTs and chips

Monday- Homemade hamburger helper and salad

Tuesday- Bean soup and cornbread

Wednesday- Clay pot chicken, veggies, and rolls

Thursday- Chicken and dumplings and rolls

Friday- Pork loin and roasted veggies

Saturday- Pork stew and bread