baked potato soup.

Cheese. Bacon. Potatoes. Butter. Sour cream.

That’s a list of delicious things. I don’t know if you knew or not.

I’ve been looking for a baked potato soup recipe forever. Eventually I figure out the basics of the soup and then I found a recipe to inspire me the rest of the way. The internet is great for that.

I love baked potatoes. Making it into soup on a snowy day just makes sense. There’s just something about standing over a pot on the stove stirring a concoction of cheese, cream, and potatoes. It just makes everything feel a little more okay.

Make some soup. Curl up on the couch. Watch a movie. Eat some cookies.

Baked Potato Soup
adapted from seeded at the table
serves about 6 people

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large potatoes
4 green onions, chopped
1 package bacon
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 8-ounce jar sour cream
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Clean and poke potatoes with a sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool (seriously don’t burn yourself). Peel with a paring knife and cut into small cubes. Set aside.
While potatoes are baking, fry bacon in a large skillet. Allow to cool and crumble into chunks. Set aside.
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined well with butter. Add milk and stir until thickened, about 10 minutes, over medium heat. Increase heat by a little bit and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the sour cream, crumbled bacon, and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and potatoes are slightly broken down. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with extra cheese and bacon.

If you have extra, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat on the stove over medium-low heat.

mini bacon quiches

I made quiche! Aka: I’ve been obsessed with breakfast foods recently and wanted breakfast for dinner. That’s a good reason to make quiche isn’t it? Right up there with bridal showers and potlucks. That’s how that works, right? Let’s just go with it.

I’m feeling extra sarcastic today. That’s weird. I either need to go for a run or sit and eat ice cream and watch Pride and Prejudice. This is a difficult decision. I’ll get back to you on that one. Right after I tell you about this quiche.

Quiche is one of those weird things that not very many people make very often. But, come on. It’s eggs and you can put whatever you want in it! What’s so bad about that. Now, quiche is normally made in a pie pan. But I am not in possession of one of those…luckily my lovely roommate, Em, has a set of 4 4-inch spring form pans. This is how my brain works: I said to myself, “I can make quiche in a spring form pan. It’s like my own personal quiche that no one else gets to eat.” Yeah, those were my thoughts last night around 11:30pm. Really.

So two personal quiches were made. It is totally acceptable to use a pie pan to make this, you just won’t have personal ones, and you’ll have to share. You’re probably better at that than I am. You may have to adjust ingredients, but it’ll work out. That’s what cooking is about. I used a roll-out pie crust, which meant cutting in half and then cutting some more to make them fit in the pans. There was a lot of cutting and pasting. That’s just the fun part though. This quiche is also full of bacon (because it is amazingly delicious) and cheese (because it is also amazingly delicious). Spices are also a great thing to be combined with the eggs. Sometimes eggs can be boring, and that is the opposite of what we want.

This looks oddly like soup before it gets baked, but it’s all good. The eggs bake up really fluffy and light. The pie crust adds just enough crunch. If you do use spring form pans, be careful getting them out. Don’t be like me and try to get them out as soon as they come out of the oven. And make sure you use potholders or oven mitts or something. This quiche is perfect for breakfast or dinner. I plan on saving my second quiche for breakfast in the morning. (Meals that do double duty are the bomb!) Make these then eat ice cream at watch Pride and Prejudice. After forcing yourself to do the dishes…real life. It’s intense.

Mini Bacon Quiches

makes 2 4-inch quiches

1 roll out pie crust

5 strips of bacon, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 of one onion, or 1 shallot, diced

3 large eggs

1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/8 cup milk

1/4 cup frozen hash browns

pinch each of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pie crust in half, grease 2 4-inch spring form pans. Cut and piece the pie crust into the pans until each is covered. Set aside. In a small skillet, fry diced bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool. Discard most of the bacon fat and then saute the onion and garlic until the onions are transparent. Remove them from the pan and let them cool. In a small bowl whisk together eggs and milk. Add the spices, frozen hash browns, onions, 3/4 of the bacon, and 3/4 of the cheese. Mix the eggs well. Divide between the two pans. Top with remaining cheese and bacon. Place the pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a fork inserted into the top comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm.

These will last stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.