Happy Bachelor Monday friends! Who else is a little peeved that ABC spoiled the surprise and told us who the next Bachelorette is? I took a few years off of this show, and for the past two seasons Casey and I have been totally hooked again. I am totally team Vanessa but I can’t help but love Corinne’s insane personality too. She’s so insane I love it. Anywayyyy…. we had a great weekend over here – completely enjoyed every second of the gorgeous weather and tried to spend lots of hours in the sunshine. But wouldn’t you know that Mother Nature is going to be a fickle B and throw us some below freezing weather again this coming weekend.
Speaking of that, this recipe is perfect for cold cozy days. I’ve always been kind of a potato soup purist – I like basic, simple ingredients and love the taste of actual potatoes. I blogged about my original potato soup recipe here if you’re in that boat.
Casey’s a big fan of meat or protein of some kind in soups, and we found these pre-crumbled bits of bacon at our grocery store so we decided to load this recipe up with bacon, ham and all the fixins. It’s honestly kind of a hybrid of potato soup and broccoli cheddar – You guyssss, it’s the bomb. Dane absolutely loved it too!
What You Need
- Potatoes – I peel and diced about 1/2 pound or so
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 tsp garlic
- 2 cups of diced ham
- 1 cup of cooked bacon bits
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 can of corn
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
- Fresh parsley
- 8 cups water
- S&P to taste
I always start by sauteing my onions and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. When the veggies are translucent, I add the potatoes and cover with approximately 8 cups of water (you can always add more or less depending on how thick you’d like the soup to be). Add your meats, corn, broccoli and salt pepper and parsley to taste. From here I let the soup simmer for about half an hour, or until the potatoes and veggies are fork tender. Then, and this is key – I let the soup come down in temperature until it was warm but not boiling. This is the best time to add the cheese, sour cream and heavy cream. Now, don’t let the soup come back up to a boil, or you’ll end up with chunky cheese (I’ve learned the hard way… more than once).
I garnished this with some freshly shredded cheese and a few pieces of raw broccoli – which I surprisingly LOVED. I wish I had set aside more of it…next time!
This soup just got better the next day and we even ended up freezing a few Dane-sized meals because he gobbled it right up.
Enjoy! xo
Staying Martha 