baked potato soup-healthified

oh my, people. do i have a bowl of fall for you to try! every spoon full i ate of this deliciousness made me fall more and more in love with it and with the weather for being chilly enough for me to eat it. sooo good. also, it's from this blog which is all about low-cal and healthy foods, so that is an added bonus. honestly, though, if i didn't know it was low-cal, i would have been putting on my fat pants because it tastes like added pounds to the thighs. but it's not** score!

image

you need:

2 potatoes

1 small head cauliflower

1 can (or 1.5 cups) fat free chicken broth

1.5 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup sour cream

cheese, bacon, and green onions for topping

cook the potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. turn them over, and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender (or you can bake them. or put them in the crock-pot all day. you choose)

while potatoes are cooking, cut cauliflower into florets and steam until soft.

when potatoes are tender, peel them and cut them in half.

in a blender or food processer (she says use an immersion blender. whatever that is), combine potatoes, cauliflower, milk, and chicken broth. mix until smooth.

return potato mixture to a sauce-pan, add sour cream and s&p, and heat until boiling. once it boils, turn it to low and simmer for 5ish minutes.

top with your heart's desired amount of cheese, bacon, onion. 

**obviously if you want it low-cal you need to use fat free or light sour cream, skim or 1% milk, and fat free chicken broth. and probably don't put cheese to your heart's content (i'll take 1 cup per bowl, thank you).

happy fall eating!

Idaho Tacos

I can just hear the wheels in all your heads turning as your thinking, "Did I just read that wrong? Did she type that incorrectly? Surely someone here is confused!" But no my friends. I am really talking about Idaho Tacos. You know a Howe girl would never steer you wrong! Just trust me! Try it once and you will love it! It's quick, it's easy, and it's yummy!

What you'll need:

Potatoes-- enough for your family
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix
Shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
sliced green onion
diced avocado
diced green pepper
salsa
sour cream
ranch dressing
any other toppings you might like

Bake the potatoes until done. In the meantime, brown the ground beef until no longer pink; drain. Add the soup mix and 1/4-1/2 cup water. Simmer until the water is about gone. Now just cut open your potato and top with meat, cheese, and whatever else you choose to go on top. It's just that easy friends! It's the best combination of flavors! Take my word for it and give it a try!!

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

I hear this is a pretty good version of Outback's Baked Potato Soup, but I've never had it at Outback so I'll just take their word for it. Again, I found this recipe on another blog and just had to share it with you! We made this at my mom's on Saturday night and we were all big fans! So, here ya go!

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

(We used green onion and WAY less--about 3--we're not onion lovers!)

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese

(The real stuff--Fat Free doesn't melt!)

**In a crock pot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!

Cheesy Potatoes

I know there are a million versions/recipes out there for cheesy potatoes, but when Aunt Di passed this one on my mom we all thought we were in heaven! Now, they are FOR SURE a family favorite. Mmmmm......

(image found here)

2 pks grated hashbrowns (we prefer Simply Shreds!)
1 cube of butter
1 bunch of green onions
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
16 oz. Sour Cream
Lots of grated cheddar cheese (I would guess 2-3 cups!)

**Chop onions VERY fine and sautee in butter until onions look clear
**Mix soup and sour cream together, add cooked onions and butter
**Pour over hash browns (either frozen or thawed) and stir together.
**Sprinkle in cheese and salt and pepper until it looks plenty cheesy!
**Bake at 350 for 1 hour (plan an extra half hour if they are frozen!) Stir occasionally as they cook!

Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!

PS, Don't forget to enter our giveaway here!

Twice Baked Potatoes

Nicki gave me this recipe once upon a time and since that day in time I have made them on several occasions (mostly family parties) and every time they are a huge hit! They're not a lot of work, you just have to plan ahead so you have time to let them cool so you can bake them twice.

(picture found here)

2 lg. potatoes--baked and cooled
2 slices of bacon
2 green onions--diced
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. sour cream
2 Tbs. milk
6 Tbs. shredded cheddar

**Sautee bacon and onions together and scoop and drain on a paper towel.
**Scoop out cooled potatoes (I cut mine in half and scoop them) and line empty potato skins on a foil lined pan
*In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients and whip until smooth and creamy.
*Scoop filling back into potato skins and top with more shredded cheddar
*Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

We make these in great quantity for family meals and I tend to just estimate the ingredients until I get the consistency I want, so don't feel like you have to have everything exact!

Beef Stew

I have always turned up my nose at stew, but after the pickiest sister Candice stamped it with her approval, I thought I'd better try it! This recipe comes from our sister-in-law, Tif, and is quick and easy and, best of all, a crock-pot recipe. My fave!

(Not my picture. Image from here. I'll be honest...mine didn't look very appetizing (the color of the broth turned me off), so I opted for this image instead).

Ingredients

1 lb. stew meat

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can of corn--with the juice

3-4 potatoes, peeled, washed, and chunked

1 C. diced carrots

1 can (use one of the cream cans) filled with water.

Dehydrated or minced onion to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything in the crock-pot and cook on low all day. About 5 minutes before we ate, I threw in a cup or so of frozen peas (I didn't want them to get soggy from cooking all day). The stew was really hearty and filling and a perfect meal for a chilly day!

Cheesy Pig

image from here

Cold days like today make me want soup. This is one of our very favorite soup recipes. I think it has a more technical name like "Cheesy Ham Chowder" or something, but my brother-in-law, Mark, renamed it Cheesy Pig, and the name stuck.

It looks like a lot of steps, but it's actually really simple.

Ingredients

10 slices bacon

1 C. diced carrots

1 onion (I just use some dehydrated onions)

3 Tbsp. flour

3 C. milk

1.5 C. water

2.5 C. diced potatoes

1 can corn-drained

3 C. cheese

2 C. diced ham

How to make this deliciousness we call soup:

-Cut the bacon into little pieces and fry it.

-Remove bacon from pan and cook onions and carrots in the grease.

-When carrots are cooked, add the flour and stir it in until it's smooth.

-Put carrots, onions, and flour in a pot.

-Add milk and water---stir.

-Add potatoes and simmer until they are soft.

-Add corn, bacon, ham, and cheese.

-Heat until cheese is melted.

Yum! It's even better in bread bowls!

--Mindy