42. Irish Potato Soup

I received a free copy of Sandra Lee’s new Semi-Homemade Magazine. Sandra Lee believes in taking short cuts by using prepared foods, adding your own touches, and presenting wonderful meals. This recipe was in the magazine. I guess the shortcut in this recipe is the prepared chicken broth…but haven’t I been using that all along? Who has time to make their own chicken broth??

Irish Potato Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 ½ pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, Sargento
1 cup chopped green onion
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Garnish: shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, sliced green onion

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook for 4 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until soup is thick and only small chunks of potato remain. Add cheese, green onion, salt, and pepper stirring until cheese is melted. Garnish with cheese and green onion, if desired.


Changes and Shortcuts: I peeled and cut up the potatoes the night before. This time I covered them with water before storing them in the refrigerator. When it was time to cook them, all I had to do was poor off the water and they were good to go! I also cut up the onion, celery, and garlic and stored them in a separate bowl. Believe it or not, the store I went to didn’t seem to have green onions, so I left them out.

Results: This soup took a little longer than I wanted to spend after getting home late from work. After cooking the soup for 45 minutes the potatoes were soft and cooked through, but the soup wasn’t thick like the one in the picture. I took a potato masher and mashed some of the potatoes in the soup. (It could be that since I soaked the potatoes over night some of the starch soaked out and I poured it down the drain.) Once I added the cheese it really took on the form that I was looking for. I probably added more cheese than the recipe called for because I couldn’t find the bag of cheese I thought I bought so I put in whatever I had in the refrigerator. The green onions would have added a little extra texture, but the soup was good without it.

Keeper? YES!

43. Nacho Potao Soup

I went back to Taste of Home Fast Fixes with Mixes for this soup. This is another soup that has just a few ingredients, quick prep time, and sounded like it would taste good…

Nacho Potato Soup

1 package (3 ¼ oz) au gratin potatoes
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
2 cups water
2 cups milk
2 cups cubed process American cheese
Dash hot pepper sauce, optional
Minced fresh parsley, optional

In a 3-qt saucepan, combine the potatoes and sauce mix, corn, tomatoes and water; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add milk, cheese and hot pepper sauce if desired; cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Garnish with parsley if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings (2 quarts)


Changes and Shortcuts: There was nothing that I had to do ahead of time with this recipe. I simply assembled my box of au gratin potato mix, can of corn, and can of tomatoes on the counter and put my soup pot on the stove before I left for work. The recipe didn’t suggest it, but I broke up the potatoes as I put them in the pot so they would be bite size in the soup.

Results: Another success! This is a nice, quick, creamy soup. The recipe makes enough for lunch leftovers. I realized that I didn’t put the hot pepper sauce in the soup—but I never missed it. This would probably also be good with either ground beef or shredded chicken in it. I served it with a good, crusty, whole grain bread and it was perfect!

Keeper? YES!

Broccoli-Cheese Corn Bread

This recipe is from the Taste of Home’s Fast Fixes with Mixes book. I’m not a fan of corn bread, but this one has lots of flavor—and lots of stuff in it to really make it tasty.

Broccoli-Cheese Corn Bread

4 eggs
½ cup butter melted
¾ teaspoon salt
1 package (8.5 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, chopped

In a bowl, combine eggs, butter and salt. Stir in corn bread mix just until blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 11’ X 7’ X 2’ baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Slice and serve warm. Yield: 12 servings. Note: to make muffins instead of bread, fill greased muffins cups three fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Yield: 1 ½ dozen.


Changes and shortcuts:
I thawed the broccoli the night before then placed it in a bowl lined with paper towel in the refrigerator. By the time I got home from work, the broccoli was ready to be cooked. Since I was chopping onion for the soup the night before, I also chopped the onion for the corn bread. I put a little less onion than the recipe calls for as we have someone who dislikes onions in the family. The 11 X 7 pan seemed awfully big, so I used an 8 X 8 pan.

Results:
Very good. I plan to make muffins the next time!

Keeper? YES!