Potato Soup Recipe

Ingredients

5 slices bacon, diced

3 tablespoons bacon grease (reserved) or butter

1 cup diced white or yellow onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups milk, warmed

1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled (if desired) and diced (I recommend Yukon gold potatoes)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream

Directions

Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally.  Transfer the bacon to a separate plate, using a slotted spoon, reserving about 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the stockpot.  (Discard any extra grease, or you can substitute butter in place of the 3 tablespoons of bacon grease.  Also, if you are short on time, you can dice the potatoes and onion while the bacon cooks to save time.)

Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.  Sprinkle the flour on top of the onion, and stir until combined.  Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.  Then stir in the chicken stock until combined.  Stir in the milk, potatoes, and cooked bacon bits until combined.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, but is not boiling.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn.  (The smaller you dice your potatoes, the faster they will cook.)

When the potatoes are soft, stir in the cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper.  Taste and see if it needs more salt or pepper or cheese.

Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings.

Easy to Make Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients

1-1 Gallon Freezer Bag

1½ lb. Beef Stew Meat, Cut into 1 inch pieces

½ C. All-purpose Flour

2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion

2 cloves of Garlic, finely minced or grated

1 tsp. Sea Salt

½ Tbsp. Brown sugar

½ tsp. Dried Marjoram

½ tsp. Dried oregano

Remaining Ingredients ( to be added at time of cooking):

14 oz. Beef Stock

½ C. Water

1½ C. of Carrots, cleaned and sliced ¼” thick, or one (8 oz.) bag of baby carrots, rinsed

1 (14 oz.) can of Diced Tomatoes, undrained

1 (4 oz.) can of Tomato Paste

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 ½ lbs. Yukon gold Potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

**Optional- 1 Cup Frozen Green Beans, or 1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms or additional veggies of your choice

Directions

In a 1 Gallon Freezer bag put Stew Meat, Flour, Dried Minced Onion, Garlic, Salt, Sugar, Marjoram, and Oregano. Shake well, and freeze until ready to use. * remove from freezer and place in fridge the night before it will be going into the crock-pot

Eight hours before you want to eat: In a crock-pot, on High, add the contents of your freezer bag, Beef Stock, Water, Carrots, Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, and Worcestershire Sauce, Stir, Cover. Leave to cook.

Three hours before serving, wash, peel, cut, and add the potatoes and additional veggies, stir, cover, and cook until potatoes are done. Serve hot.