Celebrate National Soup Day!

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Happy National Soup Day! Boy is it ever the perfect day to celebrate. We have loads of snow on the ground, the temperatures are frigid, and I am tucked up in the house in front of the fire with my favorite cat, my favorite blanket, a tatty, bulky sweater, remote in hand, binge-watching my favorite British mystery.

 If you are as big of a soup fan as I am, then you will want to try one (or all!) of these. I have listed my favorites below (in alphabetical order because I didn’t want to play favorites). Click on the highlighted name beneath the photo to head straight for the recipe.

 Celebrate with soup! 

 Beef & Vegetable Soup

 

 B​​etter than Bread Co.’s* Cream Cheese Potato Soup

 

Cheesy Leek and Broccoli Soup

 

 Chicken Soup au Gratin

 

 Cream of Portobello Mushroom Soup with Sherry

 Rigatoni and Meatball Soup

 

 Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

 

 Wonton Chicken Noodle Soup

 

Panera’s Cream Cheese Potato Soup

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Last weekend I decided to take some time to try some new recipes. I was looking forward to it, I mean, it’s not as if I had any place else to go. Unfortunately, one after another, they went right into the trash. I was beginning to think that I had seriously lost my touch. So, Sunday evening, I looked at the dwindling stack of recipes that I had gone through, and pulled out one that looked the most lackluster of the lot. With the exception of cubing and peeling all of those potatoes, there’s really not much to it, so my expectations were low. Much to my delight, it was quite good. I ended up having a bowl of soup, and Olive Parsley Tapenade slathered onto crusty French bread for dinner; it was the best meal I’d had in a while. This is supposed to be a clone of Panera’s Cream Cheese Potato Soup. Having never had Panera’s Cream Cheese Potato Soup, I can’t tell you if it’s at all similar, but it is good, it isn’t much work, and it’s bound to please all who partake of it.

Panera’s Cream Cheese Potato Soup

4 c. chicken stock
4 c. peeled and cubed potatoes
½ t. seasoned salt
¼ t. white pepper

¼ t. ground red pepper*
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut into chunks

Combine broth, potatoes, and spices. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. (This is a great little potato smasher.) Reduce to low heat. Add cream cheese, heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

*If you like a bit of a kick, this McCormick Hot Shot! Black & Red Pepper Blend is my fave!

Slow Cooker Loaded Baked potato Soup

Welcome to “Sip Some Soup Sunday.” Well, it isn't officially Sip Some Soup Sunday (though I am trying to get it to trend), I just like to call it that. :-) It is Sunday, and I do like to sip soup, and it's fun to say “Sip Some Soup Sunday.” Go ahead, say it. It's fun, am I right? I think it's the alliteration. Anyway it's October, and as far as I'm concerned that officially makes it soup season.

I've mentioned a number of times before that sometimes my main criteria for making a recipe is ease. This recipe falls into that category. When I first saw it I thought it was too good to be true. It just looked way too easy to be really good. In the past, I'd only worked with frozen hash browns in baked casseroles, so I wasn't sure how well they would translate to soup. If you were wondering the same thing, let me set your mind at ease, this recipe is fantastic, and boy is it easy. So relax, and enjoy your Sunday, while your dinner simmers away in the crockpot.

Slow Cooker Loaded Baked potato Soup

Slightly adapted from 12 Tomatoes

1 (32 oz.) bag frozen hash browns

1 (32 oz.) box chicken broth

1 (10 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for garnish

3/4 cup crumbled bacon, plus extra for garnish

1/4 cup chopped scallions

Rosemary for garnish

 

Combine hash browns, cheddar cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, crumbled bacon, and cream cheese in slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Use a spoon to break up cream cheese and thoroughly mix ingredients together.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, stirring occasionally, or until potatoes are tender.

Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Stir in scallions. Garnish with more cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

Serve.

This post is linked to: Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays At Our Home, Two Cup Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Work It Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else