What I did this weekend!

I have a four day weekend every week from my "day" job.  I usually work 10 hour days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  On my days "off" I clean, do laundry, hit the gym, and work on my website and eBay site.  Typically come Monday I am exhausted from having all this time "off!"  This weekend was no exception and I am t-i-r-e-d!  But as usual it was worth it.  I got to spend Sunday baking with my daughter Erin.

We started with this...

There was more but I forgot to take a picture when it was full...

Then...



again and again and again...

This is what we came up with...

Yummy Apple Muffins...

Hot apple pie... 2 - one is in the freezer for Thanksgiving if it lasts...

Apple Crisp...

and a big pot of applesauce!

I actually made a very yummy apple cake too but I forgot to get a picture of it!  That was given away and a small portion is in the freezer for the next time I need something sweet!

Phew, that was a lot of apples and a day full of baking!  But, then there was dinner to think about, so...

I made some potato soup!  It was amazingly tasty!  While in Myrtle Beach last weekend we had this awesome Baked Potato Soup.  Ironically, while looking for magazines for the plane ride home we picked up a soup one.  Guess what?  A recipe for Baked  Potato Soup very similar to what we had eaten!

I thought I would share the recipe with you since it is sooooo good but also so easy!  You could whip this up fairly quickly at the end of a long day and it is such a good "comfort" food.  I actually found this recipe (tasteofhome.com) on the Internet and it's exactly like the one I used. 

BAKED POTATO SOUP

source

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes (about 2-3/4 pounds)
• 2/3 cup butter 
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 
• 6 cups milk 
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions 
• 10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled 
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions

 

Bake potatoes at 350° for 65-75 minutes or until tender; cool completely (I microwaved them). Peel and cube potatoes.

 In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; whisk in sour cream. Add potatoes and green onions. Garnish with bacon and cheese. Yield: 10 servings.

My thoughts on the recipe: 

• Next time I am going to add a tiny bit of garlic and some parsley to give it just a bit more flavor.
• You could always throw in some extra baked potatoes next time your preparing them for a meal so you already have those handy.
• Try bacos (sp?) instead of your own bacon to make it quicker and probably with less fat.
• We used skim milk and "light" sour cream to reduce some of the calories.  I found that while skim milk can detract from some potato soup recipes it did not so much here because of the added sour cream.
• While browsing through recipes I noticed that a lot of them call for adding the bacon and cheese right into the soup.  While that certainly is good, I prefer to garnish my soup with the cheese and bacon after it is done.



So yummy with a bit of crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.

I would be thrilled to hear how you like this soup if you made it before or if you make it from this recipe.  How would you adapt it for your own taste?

Enjoy your week!

Hugs,

Jacalyn