"Baked" Potato Soup... And The Budget Benefits of Slow Cooker Meals!

Every so often, you just need to clean out your pantry and fridge and use up ingredients before they expire.  I have to admit, I was not very good about this before, but now that our budget is tighter and the cost of groceries is higher here in Hawaii, I have gotten smarter about this.  I start by taking a quick inventory of items I have in surplus and then searching my cookbooks and the internet for recipes that use these ingredients in combination.  Last week, I had almost a whole bag of baking potatoes that needed to be used up because they were starting to sprout and I also had some whipping cream that was coming up on its expiration date.  What to do with an entire bag of potatoes?!

Actually, there was an easy and economical solution.  In my slow cooker cookbook, I found a recipe for baked potato soup that used up all my potatoes as well as the cream and some other ingredients I had on hand.  Making this recipe particulary economical was that 1) it was a slow cooker meal, ie. dump stuff in there and wait a few hours and voila!, 2) it did not require expensive specialty ingredients (many use mostly canned ingredients) and, 3) it made a large portion that could be frozen and eaten again later.  I especially loved slow cooker meals back home in the winter time, because I could make them in the morning before leaving for work and a hearty meal was ready when I walked in the door in the evening.

Slow cooker recipes can be adapted just as easily as other meals, so don't be afraid to experiment if your ingredients come up short.  Particularly because these generally make bulk quantities, you can cut back a little and still have plenty, which is exactly what I did.  Here is the recipe, and my adaptations will follow.

"Baked" Potato Soup (Southern Living Slow Cooker Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 3/4 lbs)
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 (14oz) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream or half and half
• 1 cup (4 ounces) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream (optional)
• 4 bacon slices cooked and crumbled
• Shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or on LOW 8 hours or until potatoes are tender
3. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, cheese and chives
4. Top with sour cream, if desired and sprinkle with bacon and Cheddar cheese.

Okay, so here is how I cheated...er, adapted this one.  My first confession is that I did not peel the potatoes.  In fact, I never do.  This is partly out of lazyness and partly because I like the texture of potato skins.  So there you go.  Next, I only had 2 cans of reduced-sodium chicken broth in stock, so I just used what I had and added 2 large garlic cloves in to roast along with the potatoes.  I added about 1/2 cup of water in there, just to make sure the potatoes were well-covered.  Lastly, I did not have chives, but I did have some extra green onions leftover from another meal, so I used those and they worked great.

I made a side salad to go with it, and we really enjoyed it.  Best of all, I have a freezer bag full for another night's dinner when the pantry starts to get bare!