Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

Baked Potato Soup
variation of: www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/baked-potato-soup/
Ingredients

* 3 lbs potatoes
* one white onion chopped
* 3 cloves garlic
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 bay leaf
* ½ cup chopped parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 4 cups milk
* 1-1/4 cups shredded American cheese (5 ounces)
* 4 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled


Directions
1. Scrub potatoes with a vegetable brush; pat dry. Prick potatoes with a fork. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 40 to 60 minutes or until tender; cool. Cut each potato lengthwise. Scoop out white portion of each potato. Break up any large pieces of potato. Discard potato skins.
2. In a large saucepan cook bacon. Put bacon on paper towels to drain. Cook onion and garlic in bacon grease over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add milk and bay leaf. Cook and stir for 12 to 15 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Add the potato and 1 cup of the cheese; stir until cheese melts.
3. Top each serving with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, remaining 3 tablespoons green onion, and the bacon.
4. Makes 5 to 6 servings (5 1/2 cups)

New Years dinner: Pork and sauerkraut, collard greens, black eyed peas, corn bread

New Years dinner: Pork and sauerkraut, collard greens, black eyed peas, corn bread, originally uploaded by queenofthemoodswingset2.

Pork and Sauerkraut

4 lb pork butt roast (I used boston butt roast)
2 cans of sauerkraut)
1 cup water

Put the roast in a roaster (with a lid) and cover with the sauerkraut and water.

Bake at 325 for 2 hrs or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone

Black Eyed Peas with Bacon

I bought pre-soaked beans to avoid boiling for an hour. You can just prepare the beans according to their instructions.

1 Package of black eyed peas
1/2 lb of bacon
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken broth

Boil Black eyed peas in water for 10 minutes. Drain.

while peas are boiling, brown bacon, onion and garlic in a cast iron skillet. Once they have browned, remove bacon to paper towels to drain.

pour 2 cups of chicken broth in pan and scrape the pan to get the browned bits into the broth. Add peas to the broth and boil for another 2 or 3 minutes. Pour bacon back into the beans and serve.

Collard Greens

1 lb collard greens (hard stems removed and leaves chopped)
1/2 lb of bacon (reserve 2-3 tsp bacon grease)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
a few pinches of salt
a few pinches of sugar

Brown bacon, onion and garlic in a cast iron skillet. Once they have browned, remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 2-3 teaspoons of bacon grease.

Heat bacon grease and olive oil; add the collards, salt, and sugar. Put a tight fitting lid on the pot and let the collards wilt for about 10 minutes (or until tender). Add the bacon to the collards and serve.