Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

This is a soup recipe I've modified based on a recipe my friend Stephanie found in a city cook book from San Pedro, California.

4 - peeled, diced baking potatoes
2 - large, chopped or diced yellow onions
2 - large, chopped or diced white onions
2 cloves - minced garlic
1 pkg. - lean, center cut bacon

1 pint - chicken stock
1 pint - heavy cream
1 tbsp. - salt
2 tsp. - ground black pepper

Cut the bacon into bits, and then brown it. I usually go ahead and brown it in the same large stock pot in which I simmer the soup. If the bacon is lean enough, and lean, center cut bacon should be, you will not need to drain the fat from the bacon. The soup will taste better if you don't. Add the onions and garlic and stir until the onions are caramelized. Add enough water to the stock pot along with the chicken stock to cover the onions. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes. Stir until the onions and potatoes are evenly distributed. Add the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3 hours.

Add the heavy cream and stir. Allow the soup to cool, and enjoy.

Virginia's Texas Chili

Virginia's Texas Chili

This is a chili recipe that I put together using an ingredient list sent to me by my friend Virginia Meeks. Ginny lives in Mississippi, but I couldn't figure out a clever way to put the third state into the name of the recipe...

2 lbs. - ground beef or turkey
3 - diced bell peppers (1 each of red, yellow, and orange)
2 - chopped or diced onions (white or yellow)
2 cloves - minced garlic
2 cans - tomato sauce
1 can - diced tomatoes

¾ cup - flour
1 ½ tbsp. - chili powder
1 tbsp. - baking cocoa
1 tsp. - ground ginger
1 tsp. - cumin
1 tsp. - ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. - crushed red pepper
1 tsp. - ground black pepper

Brown the meat, and drain the grease if you are using beef. If you are using turkey, it helps to add flavor if you toss in a bit of soy sauce, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin while you brown it. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and stir until the onions are carmelized.

Transfer the meat, onions, peppers, and garlic to a dutch oven or crock pot. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and the spices and stir until the chili is evenly mixed. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes in the dutch oven or about 8 - 12 hours in the crock pot. Stir in the flour as a thickening agent, and then serve the chili over steamed rice with cheese. This should feed about four to six.

If this isn't hot enough for you, you can increase the chili powder and ground cayenne to taste. I wouldn't add any more than 3 tbsp. of chili and 1 tbsp. of cayenne, but feel free to set the place on fire.