Gumbo City

If you take the idea of a loaded baked potato with butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese and then some chives on top and put it in a soup pot, you have a loaded baked potato soup recipe to die for.

The Players:
1 pound of bacon
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
7 cups milk
4 large russet potatoes
1/4 cup minced chives
1 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream

The Game Plan:
Bake the potatoes in the oven at 400 degs until they are tender and then let them cool. First you need to bake the potatoes. When they have cooled cut them up into small cubes. I tend to mash one up to make the soup creamier. It’s up to you if you want to take the skin off or not.
Cook the bacon till it is crispy and set it aside to drain all the grease off. When it has cooled break it up in to small chunks.
In a large soup pot melt the butter on a medium heat and then add the flour and whisk to make a paste(this is a roux and is used to thicken the soup). Next add the milk slowly while whisking to keep it from lumping up.
Add the potatoes and bring the soup to a boil stirring continuously to prevent the soup from burning. Once it reaches a boil turn the heat down to bring it to a low simmer. Don’t stop stirring till it’s come to a simmer or it will burn.
Now add the bacon, chives and the cheese. Add the cheese slowly and stir till it is all incorporated.
I like to add the sour cream last and I save some of the bacon and chives to top it.

8 pounds of potatoes
1 small onion
4 cups of water
2 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of butter

Cut the potatoes up to bite size pieces and dice the onion.
Wisk the flour into the milk.
Add all the dry ingredients to the crock pot first and then pour in the liquids. Now comes the easy part put the crock-pot on low cook for 5 to 7 hours.

4 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups chopped carrots
1/4 cup parsley sprigs
5 cups chicken broth
4 medium potatoes, cubed
2 cups of good grated cheddar cheese

In a soup pot add the butter, onions and carrots and cook over low heat, till vegetables are tender. Add in the chicken broth, parsley, and potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. Strain the soup and then put the potatoes, carrots and onions into a blender and puree. You may have to add some of the stock to this. Put the puree back into the pot and add back the liquid. Bring the soup back up to a good simmer and add the cheese slowly till it is all incorporated.

1 onion - chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
4 potatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon of celery seed
salt and pepper - to taste
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Dice up the potatoes to consistent size. The size is up to you i tend to cut mine up to about 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large saucepan sauté the onions till they are clear and tender.
Add into the saucepan the potatoes, parsley, celery seed and chicken broth.
Simmer on medium heat till the potatoes are soft. Remove half of the potatoes
and puree them in a blender. Put the puree back into the saucepan and then add the milk. Stir in the flour slowly to avoid lumps and bring the soup to a low simmer while stirring.
When the soup thickens up remove from the heat and serve.

4 leeks
5 potatoes
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup light cream
1 quart of chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped chervil
1/2 cup chopped celery and shallots
1/4 cup chopped shallots
Garnish with parsley

Cut the potatoes into quarters.
Remove the green leafs from the leeks then split them down the center to make them easier to clean. Wash the leeks to remove all the sand and dirt. Dice the leeks to a consistent size and sauté them in a pan with half of the butter and shallots till they are translucent. In a large pot add the chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, celery, the quartered potatoes, and simmer till potatoes are tender. Remove the potatoes and leeks to a food processor and puree them and them put back into the pot. Now add the milk, cream, and the other half of the butter. Heat to a simmer and then remove from the heat.

If you though it was good as a baked potato you need to try this baked potato soup for dinner. This potato soup is a meal all by itself.

4 large potatoes
1 stick butter3/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 quarts of milk
4 green onions
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 pound of bacon
8 ounces of shredded cheddar

Bake or Microwave your potatoes until they are tender.
Cook your bacon to well done so that you can crumble it up. The onions need to be chopped up to a size that suits your taste. Then in a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients heat the milk and butter till the butter is all melted. Add the flour slowly while whisking to keep it from lumping up.
Cut your potatoes up into 1 inch squares and then mash them up. Add half of the onions and the bacon now and save the rest to top the soup. Whisk in the potatoes with the skin to the pot. Over low heat stir till the soup Is hot.

This easy potato soup recipe is about as simple as they come. No one ever said that food or recipes have to be complicated to be good. I believe that if you have some simple basic recipes you can always build on them.

1 small onion
4 medium potatoes
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup of water
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
Salt and Pepper to your taste

Dice the onions small and cube your potatoes to a consistent size.
Put the onions, potatoes and carrots in a pot of water and boil till the potatoes are tender. Add in the milk and butter and heat. Be careful at this point to not burn the milk.