There is nothing better on a cold Winter day than a bowl of hot soup. I only like soup when its really cold out and this week it actually snowed in Austin! Yes, snow for the first time in at least 4 years. We’re all about the crazy hot summers and the not so cold winters in here in Texas. So with the snow I was totally in the mood to whip up a delicious soup that the entire family would enjoy. I decided on Baked Potato Soup because its easy and I always feel like an accomplish cook when I make it. I made a quick list of things to pick up at the grocery store and we headed to Walmart. Walmart is currently like a field trip for our preschooler. With Christmas around the corner he is pretty focused on toys and he wanted to stroll by and “check on them” since he knew we were not going to be making a toy purchase today.
We did our stroll by, all toys are appropriately okay and we headed to the grocery area. I marked each thing off my list and when I got the potatoes I hesitated. I didn’t want to spend time washing, peeling and cutting up potatoes. I wanted this soup to be quick and easy today, so I decided to use Simply Potatoes® Shredded Hashbrowns. They also offer their potatoes diced or even mashed but I thought this was a better option to get the little one to eat it than the traditional diced potatoes. I love how much time using the prepped potatoes shaves off of my dinner prep. More time to play with the kids and enjoy our evening as a family.
- 2 c. of Simply Potatoes® Shredded Hashbrowns
- 4 slices of bacon, cooked and diced
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 c flour
- 3 1/2 c whole milk
- 3 green onions, washed and diced thinly
- 1 c shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 c sour cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Cook and dice bacon, set aside
- Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in milk, and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in potatoes and 1/2 of green onions.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in cheese, sour cream, add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnish with green onion, cheese and bacon, if desired.
- If the soup is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
