christmas countdown::satisfying soups::

Clearly I am not in blogger mode, because I did not snap one picture of any sort of soupy goodness.

Also, this post has been sitting half finished in queue for close to a week. "I can only do what I can do" is being muttered by me several times a day. Sometimes as a gentle reminder, sometimes as a peaceful acknowledgement and sometimes in exasperation or despair. There are only so many hours in the day and so much money in the bank (both seeming even less this year, with adjusting to me being home and a new baby).

So, I can only do what I can do. Which means that several things are scratched off the list of things we wanted to give, only two cookies out of the couple dozen on my list have been made, multiple surfaces in my house are filled with various crafting items so I can move back and forth between what I have time for, dishes sit in the sink longer than I'd like, and easy dinners are a must.

A close friend of ours just had a baby last week, so we brought by some soup for dinner.

This was one of the first crockpot recipes I ever made, and it was an instant keeper. The cookbook I got it from was passed on long ago, but the recipe remains in heavy rotation during the fall and winter months.

Double Thick Potato Cheese Soup

• 2 lbs  baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes ( I didn't bother with peeling this last time and it was fine)
• 2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use a make your own cream soup mix base and add it to sauteed mushrooms or celery, though the recipe does work best if you use at least one condensed can)
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped green onions, divided
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I add more though)
• 1 dash ground red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (an 8 oz block works fine)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk 
• black pepper to taste 

In crock pot combine potatoes, cream of mushroom, 1 cup of green onions and spices. Mix up well.

Cook on low 8 hours.

Add in cheese, sour cream and milk, stir until cheese melts.

Add the remaining green onions before serving.

 We like this served with a nice thick crispy bread, usually a Wegmans bought garlic tuscan loaf.

Of course, no dairy for me. I needed a substitution. I wasn't expecting much with no cream and no cheese - but was very pleasantly surprised at how this turned out!

Dairy Free Potato Chowder

celery
onions
carrots
minced garlic
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
chicken broth (2-3 cups or so)
2-3 baking potatoes
coconut milk
bacon grease or oil


Saute diced celery, onions, garlic and carrots in bacon grease. Add diced potatoes, pepper flakes and seasoning and cook about 5 minutes on high. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil Turn down heat, cover and let simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Add coconut milk (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

Blend with an immersion blender until desired consistency (I pureed most everything, but you can leave some veggies whole)

Delicious and best of all easy!