Baked potato and bacon soup

4 large Baker Potato , Baked, peeled
1 pound low sodium Bacon, chopped, fried, drained
3 stalk Celery, chopped
1 medium Sweet Onion, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups sour cream and onion dip
1 cup cheddar cheese, shreeded

(to bake potatoes, wash, rub with olive oil, prick with fork at bake on cookie sheet at 350F for about 2 hours)

1. In 6 quart Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp.
2. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain and pour the bacon drippings into a cup. Put 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings back into the pan along with the butter, chopped onion, and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender.
3. Stir in the flour until blended. Stir in chicken broth; cover and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thickened and vegetables are very tender.
4. Stir in milk, scooped out potato, salt, pepper, and cheese. Continue cooking until cheese is melted.
5. Blend about half of the soup in batches until smooth. Add the blended soup back to the pot and add sour cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup is hot. Serve the soup garnished with bacon.

St Paddy's day

In honour of St Patrick's day,  I managed to prove I am not Irish by making Irish stew from a recipe I found on the internet.  I will post the recipe, but first I'll just send you to All Recipes UK:

Irish Stew with Parsnips

Fortunately the stew turned out really well.  I started in my 5 quart Kitchen aid dutch oven, but it quickly became apparent that it just wasn't big enough.  So I switched to the monster that was too big.  At some point I hope to have an in between size, but for now the beast works just fine.

I did change a few things,  I tripled the veg, used baby potatoes and ended up adding some cornstarch to thicken it at the end.   And because I hate leaving the stove on with a free range toddler in the house, I baked it in the oven at 300F.  So here is my version, in case I want to remember what I did later on.

Irish stew -
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1000g lamb shoulder, bone out

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 large onion, quartered

1 lb baby carrots from a bag

3  parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 cups water

25 baby potatoes, halved

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

1 leek, green part only, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon cornstarch in a little cold water to avoid lumps

		Preheat oven to 300F Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or casserole pot. Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
		Add the onion, carrots and parsnips and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer in oven for 2 hours.
		Stir in potatoes and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender but still whole. Remove from oven and add cornstarch.  Simmer on stove top to thicken.

Less Mess Shepard's pie.

One of the nice things about cast iron is how nicely it doubles as a both a stove top pan and a oven ready casserole. I love using my Lodge signature pan for just this reason.

Now the recipe:

Shepard's pie

Implements:

Dutch oven

Large Lodge Casserole

wooden spatula

paring knife
Chef's knife
cutting board

potato masher 
measuring spoons and cups

Meat filling
1 tbsp. Cooking oil
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs extra lean ground beef
1 tbsp. flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
⅓ cup milk
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. prepared horseradish
2 cup mixed vegetables, frozen

Topping:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
boiling salted water
1 tbsp. butter
3-4 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. garlic
paprika


1. Peel potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes
2. While potatoes are boiling, heat cooking oil in frying pan. Add garlic and onion. Saute until onions are clear. Add beef. Saute until beef is lightly browned.
3. Sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in first amount of milk until mixture boils.
4. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, horseradish, frozen mixed veg. Pack into greased 8x8 inch pan or casserole.
5. Drain and mash potatoes. Add first amount of butter, second amount of milk, and garlic. Mash together. Spread over beef mixture.
6. Sprinkle with paprika. Make wave pattern with fork in potato. Bake, uncovered, near top of 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes until hot and lightly browned. Serves 4 to 6.