Chewin'

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February/March 2003

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

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Meals:	1	2	3	4	5	6
Serves:	8	16	24	32	40	48
Ingredients:
Large baking potatoes	4	8	12	16	20	24
Butter or margarine*	10 T.	20 T.	30 T.	40 T.	50 T.	60 T.
Flour	2/3 C.	1-1/3 C.	2 C.	2-2/3 C.	3-1/3 C.	4 C.
Milk	6 C.	12 C.	18 C.	24 C.	30 C.	36 C.
Shredded cheddar cheese	1-1/2 C.	3 C.	4-1/2 C.	6 C.	7-1/2 C.	9 C.
Salt	1-1/4 t.	2-1/2 t.	1 T. + 3/4 t.	1 T. + 2 t.	2 T. +  1/4 t.	2 T. + 1-1/2 t.
Pepper	1/2 t.	1 t.	1-1/2 t.	2 t.	2-1/2 t.	1 T.
Bacon, cooked and crumbled	8 slices	16 slices	24 slices	32 slices	40 slices	48 slices
Sour cream, regular or light	8 oz.	16 oz.	24 oz.	32 oz.	40 oz.	48 oz.
On Hand:
Shredded cheddar cheese	1 C.	2 C.	3 C.	4 C.	5 C.	6 C.
Green onions, chopped**	2-3	4-5	6-7	8-9	10-11	12-13

* 8 T. = 1 stick, or 1/2 C. butter or margarine.

** Green onions refer to individual onions, not bunches of onions.

Assembly Directions:
Scrub potatoes and wrap each one in aluminum foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 60-90 minutes, or until they’re soft when you squeeze them. Remove the potatoes from the oven, unwrap and cut in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp into a large bowl. Set aside. Save the leftover skins to make potato skins, or discard.

Melt butter or margarine in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring until smooth. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Turn heat up to medium and continue stirring while slowly adding the milk. Continue to stir until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add the cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and bacon. Mash the potato pulp with a hand-held potato masher, a fork, or a mixer, to get rid of the large chunks. Add the potato pulp to the pan, stirring to mix. When it is heated through, add the sour cream and stir to mix well. Do not boil the soup. Set aside to cool.

Freezing Directions:
Freeze in freezer bags or rigid containers based on your family size. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw at least overnight in the refrigerator. Put the soup in a saucepan or microwave-safe container to heat. The soup will have the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. If needed, stir in some milk to make it more “soup-like”. But the soup should be thick, not runny. Once it’s heated through, spoon into serving bowls. Top each bowl with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar and some green onions as garnish.

Tammy’s Comments:
This is my new favorite soup! I love it! The large baking potatoes are the ones sold individually in the produce department. I’ve never made potato soup with baked potatoes, but it works great!! You can use low fat or fat free sour cream or cheese if you prefer.
 

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