Crock Pot Potato Soup

Well, I'm sick again... I guess that's what happens when you work at a doctor's office! You know how it is when you're not feeling well... especially when you have things you have to do during the day. I was going to be out all day, so I planned ahead and used my lovely crock pot. I wanted something creamy and warm so I decided on a cheesy potato soup. Check out this quick and easy deliciousness.

First, I cut up the potatoes and threw them in.

Cube the potatoes

Add bouillon cubes, garlic, salt, pepper, and water.

Add chopped onion and 1/4 half and half.

OOPS! Almost forgot the bacon!



Pop on the lid, and cook on low for 6 hours or so.

6 hours later, doesn't look amazing yet, but don't worry!

Give the immersion blender a whir.

Add cream cheese and cheddar.

And some hot sauce for good measure.

Crock Pot Potato Soup
* 7 potatoes, cubed
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cubes chicken bouillon and 3c water
(You can use 3c chicken broth instead if ya have it.)
* 1/4c half and half
* 3oz cream cheese
* 1/2c cheddar cheese (plus more for topping)
* Franks hot sausce to taste
* Scallions for topping

*Cube potatoes and onion and put in slow cooker. Add chicken broth or bouillon and water. Add half and half, then cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on your crock pot. When you come back to it, blend it a little (either use an immersion blender or scoop some out and use a food processor or blender). I like to leave some chunks of potatoes so you have something to bite in to. Then add cream cheese and cheddar and stir to combine. It should just take a few minutes for it to melt. Once it is thoroughly mixed in, add just a little hot sauce. Then top it off with more delicious cheddar and scallions and enjoy the creamy goodness.

Homemade Chicken and Noodles

So Black Friday has come and gone and now we have a computer again! Woop, woop!
Yes, we went without a computer for like 2 1/2 months. I don't know how I ever survived! haha :) Now I have been able to start some blogs on my cell phone, but I can't really figure
out how to get my pictures where I want them, so I am going to try to get back on track with blogging. I forgot how much I enjoy it! I hope you're excited because here is a great post... Homemade noodles! Y-U-M, yum!

My mom makes the best homemade chicken noodles; totally crave worthy. One of my secret talents (learned from her of course) is that I can make homemade noodles too. Pretty cool, huh?

However...it's not very often that they do come out of my kitchen because they're messy! Not really difficult, just messy. Sometimes I use my mom's top secret noodle recipe, sometimes I will use the recipe out of my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (everyone should have one, it has all the basics that you might need). And as a last resort, if I don't make my own noodles, I will use 'kluski' noodles from the grocery store.

 

So here is how I do it!

*First, the broth...
                 4 Chicken Breasts (or whatever cut you want to use)
                 Water (enough to cover + 2 inches)
                 1 Tbsp Salt
                 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
                 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash
                 1/2 Tbsp Pepper
                
I put about 4 chicken breasts in a stock pot. Cover with water plus an extra 2 inches or so. Add salt, garlic, pepper, and generic Mrs Dash. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce to medium and cook for at least a half hour until chicken is cooked. Skim the water to get the gross stuff off the top. Remove chicken to a plate and shred apart with 2 forks, then return to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and work on your noodles.



Water, Chicken Breasts, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Mrs. Dash

Skim the water. Yes, I know, EW...



* Now the noodles:
                  2 1/2c. all purpose flour
                  1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (or better yet, 1/4 c. fresh herbs if you have them)
                  2 beaten eggs
                  1/3 c. water
                  1 tsp. cooking oil

Mix dry ingredients (use fresh herbs if you have them!). Add liquid ingredients and combine. Cover your table with a little flour and place your dough on it. Knead for 5-10 minutes until fairly smooth and less sticky. (You may need to add a little more flour.) Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin to 1/16th of an inch thick. Now my mom always rolled these like a jelly roll and sliced this way. I have trouble with mine sticking if I do that, so I just roll flat and use a pizza cutter make my noodles. Then, just let them hang out a bit. Some people let their noodles completely dry, I don't have that much patience. And it's never seemed to affect my noodles negatively.


Get ready to knead
 

Roll it out thin (1/16th of an inch)

See, thin

Don't cut directly on the table unless you're trying to add character!

*Now to put it all together. Increase your heat again and get your broth to boil. Add noodles a handful at a time so they don't become one giant lump. Once they are all incorporated, return to simmer.

 

If after a few minutes your broth is not thickening up, don't panic! There are a couple of things we can do... In fact that I had to do this time (I used too much water when boiling the chicken breasts). In a small bowl (or cup or whatever) Mix a little corn starch with some water and whisk in with the soup. If that doesn't do the trick, there is a sneaky little last ditch effort you can do. I call in a favor from my friend Campbell.... yes, that's right, toss in a can, or part of a can, of cream of chicken soup. You've done everything else yourself, so don't let it get ya down if you need to do this. No one has to know! ;). I enjoy these best on top of a nice scoop of mashed potatoes to add to the carb-y deliciousness, but it can be served as is.

Now that the weather is cold and days are short, it's a perfect opportunity to learn how to make homemade noodles. You can use them so many ways, but this is my favorite. Let me know if you have any questions or if I need to add more detail. Hope you enjoy!

 

That's right, look at that creamy goodness!