Idaho Baked Potato Soup

Idaho Baked Potato Soup

ingredients:

4 large baking potatoes (or 6 medium sized potatoes)

1/3 cup butter

salt and pepper

6 cups milk (I used 1 cup water and 5 cups of milk)

1 onion

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup sour(ed) cream

1 cup strong/sharp cheddar cheese

10 slices of (streaky) bacon (cooked and crumbled) optional

green onion

Directions:

Bake the potatoes then let cool completely before scooping out the middle, and roughly chopping all of the potato and half of the potato skin (discard the other half of the potato skins or bake them in the oven topped with cheese).

In a large pan fry the onion and garlic in the butter and balsamic vinegar.

Add 3/4ths potato, chopped potato skin, milk, water, sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.

Use a hand/stick blender to blitz up the soup.

Add the remainder of the chopped up potato. Stir gently and bring just to the boil.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of cheese, crumbled bacon (optional) and green onions.

cook's notes: It's a simple soup and there are many ways to prepare it, this is just my simple way. There is no messing about making a roux out of flower when the potato is thick enough. You may need to add more milk or water to the soup as it has a tendency towards the thick side. It's one of my favourite winter warmers... or for freezing cold spring days.

Cheddar and Ham Muffin Recipe

Cheddar and Ham Muffins

Ingredients:
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 cup crème fraiche *
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Black Pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup ham, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together.

Add crème fraiche, butter, eggs and mix.

Add the grated cheese and chopped ham.

Mix well and spoon into muffin pans 1/2 full.

Bake in preheated 400F (180C) oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

*Alternatively use plain yogurt or sour cream or ¾ cup milk.

Cook’s note: there are a number of different recipes for ham and cheese muffins out there, I read quite a few then winged it to create this recipe, they turned out great but I will probably tinker with the recipe a bit more the next time I make them, perhaps adding bacon instead of ham, or including some sautéed onion for a richer flavour. My taste testers Matt and Harrison loved it, oh and so did Frizbe too! I used the crème fraiche because that’s what I had on hand that needed using up, I also used thinly sliced sandwich style ham for the same reason though a thicker cut would probably work better.