Loaded Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon, diced (omit for veggie version)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk, or more, as needed
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and green onions.
3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
4. Serve immediately, garnished with green onion, cheese and bacon, if desired.

Recipe from DamnDelicious Blog

Super Stuffed Potatoes w/ the Works!

4 slices cooked bacon, chopped
2 potatoes
1/2 c. sour cream
2 green onions, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 c. shredded cheese

Use a fork to poke holes in the potatoes and microwave on high for 12 minutes. Bacon can be cooking during this time. Preheat broiler. Split the potatoes and scoop out the insides into a small bowl. Combine with sour cream, green onions, salt, pepper, and cheese. Spoon back into the skins and place under broiler to brown the tops.

Recipe from Rachel Ray's Top 30-Minute Meals: Kid Food Edition.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
2 T. olive oil
2 medium sweet potatoes

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a mortar and pestle, mash together the garlic, salt, and rosemary to form a paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, put ingredients into a small bowl and mash the garlic, rosemary and salt against the side of the bowl with a fork. It takes a bit more effort, but you’ll be able to work it into a paste. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and garlic paste; set aside. Scrub sweet potatoes and cut off any blemishes that you wouldn't want to eat. Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into 1/2 inch pieces. Stacking two pieces together, cut potatoes into 1/2 inch strips. Do the same with remaining potato. Put potato strips into a large bowl; Add oil mixture and toss well until all potatoes are well coated.

Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (the parchment is optional, but makes for easier clean up!). If you don’t use parchment, make sure to grease the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or some extra olive oil.

Roast potatoes for 30-35 minutes, checking every ten minutes and rotating the pan for even browning. Every once in a while check to see if the potatoes are browning too much on the bottom. If that’s the case, turn them over. I didn’t have that problem, but you never know! Keep a careful watch towards the end and remove as soon as the smallest pieces just barely start to blacken on the ends.

Recipe from http://wlichty.blogspot.com

Dutch Oven Potatoes

1 lb. thick slice bacon
(1) 10 ½ oz. can cheddar cheese soup
2 med. yellow onions; sliced
1 cup sour cream
5 cloves garlic; minced
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms; sliced
1 Tbs. Soy sauce
15 medium potatoes; peeled & sliced
salt and pepper to taste
(1) 10 ½ oz. can cream of chicken soup

Heat a 12" deep Dutch oven using 18-20 briquettes bottom until oven is hot. Cut bacon into 1 inch slices and place in oven and fry until brown. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Stir, then cover and cook until onions are translucent. Add potatoes. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour soup mixture over potatoes and stir until all potatoes are coated. Cover and cook 60 minutes using 10-12 briquettes bottom and 12-14 briquettes top heat. Stir pot gently every 15 minutes.

Recipe from Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes