I found what was missing in my Potato Soup

Potato soup was never a staple in the Hughes kitchen, though a somewhat bastard cousin was... see my grandma's Potato Goup recipe. In my kitchen, Potato Soup is a fall favorite, not only because it tastes delicious, but also because it is an easy recipe that you can throw in the crockpot and forget about while you're at work or school. My recipe changes a little each time I make it. I'm always adding spices or trying out new ways of thickening it up, adding cheese, adding cream and sifted flour, playing with reducing the fat (ha, yeah right!). All this experimenting was for one simple reason... I felt that it was missing something. Of course it tasted great, but it was missing that one ingredient that would make it AWESOME. I found it last night as I was making the soup and unsurprisingly it is a staple that could be found in MANY of my grandma's dishes. Bacon grease. That's right... good ol' lard was the key to unlocking the secret of this dish. This takes me back to my grandma's kitchen where she would have tubs of lard stored in gallon sized old olio containers. I'm sure she would have recognized what it needed right away.

Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients
5 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced 
32 oz chicken broth (I use low sodium, but I don't think it really matters)
6 sprigs or 1 tbs fresh thyme leaves (I remove them from the stems)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup sifted flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbs bacon grease 
pinch of white pepper to taste
pinch of salt to taste 

In a crock pot combine potatoes, chicken broth, thyme, onion, and garlic. Set on low and let cook for 6 to 7 hours.

In the meantime, fry up some bacon for garnish. (See my handy tips for cooking bacon here)

30 minutes before serving to the crockpot to high and add the bacon grease. In a small bowl whisk together cream and sifted flour and add it to the soup mixture. If I have leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge I will add them at this time to make the soup a little thicker. 

After letting it simmer for 20 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon bits, chives and sour cream.

An easier way to make bacon

Far from being regulated to a breakfast item, bacon has made its way into being a staple at my house. From garnishing salads and soups to being the basis for some damn fine gravy, bacon has become a versatile way to add a little "love" to any recipe. While I love bacon as much as the next person, I have never enjoyed cooking it. I inevitably end up with burns on my hands, grease all over my oven and a very dirty frying pan. All that has changed with a simple twist to frying up bacon. I now bake it! Now bacon takes no time at all, with no mess, no burns and it comes out perfectly every time. Here is how I do it:

Line a large lipped baking sheet with aluminum foil (shiny side down of course!). 

Spread out bacon pieces onto the sheet in a row, letting the pieces slightly overlap each other.   

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees (do not preheat!) and put the bacon on the middle rack. You should let them cook for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and then flip them once. Cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until they are at your desired amount of doneness. And that is it! You can sieve the grease out of the pan to save for later or just wait for it to cool down and simply throw it away. No messy pan to clean!

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

The sun has finally left us here in the Pacific Northwest and that means.... Crockpot time! One of my favorite crockpot meals is a twist on a Hughes family staple, Chicken and Dumplings. With minimal prep time and delicious, soft dumplings, this is an old favorite made anew. The recipe below will serve a family of four easily and works great served over mashed potatoes.

 Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breast fillets (any cut of chicken breast will do as long as it is boneless!)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
32 oz chicken broth, low sodium
2 tbs butter
2 large eggs

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup milk
1/4 heavy cream

2 cups self rising flour

pinch of coarse salt

pinch of ground white pepper

Directions

In a crockpot, place chicken breasts, soup, butter and broth. Set on low heat for 5 to 6 hours or until chicken is tender and easily breaks apart with a fork. Shred the chicken into small pieces. Turn crockpot on high

In a large mixing bowl whisk together creme fraiche, milk, cream, eggs and thyme. Add flour to the mixture, stirring until just combined. In the crockpot, drop the dumpling mixture in by the spoonful. Cover the crockpot and let it cook on high for 30 to 40 minutes. I found that it works best if I flip the dumplings after 30 minutes to make sure both sides are done. Break a dumpling in half to check for doneness.

Things I'll try next time

* Those dumplings suck up a LOT of moisture so it is always better to add more broth than less. Don't worry if the mixture hasn't thickened before the dumplings are put in, the dumplings will thicken that broth right up!
* The thyme was a must. I've never been a big fan of this particular herb, but it went deliciously with the chicken. I may try to experiment with other seasonings, this is an easy dish to explore new flavors.