Soup Review—Baked Potato Soup from Cooking Light magazine

Guest Reviewer—Theresa Valentine

 Baked Potato Soup

Back in action after the holiday eating season, and I don't know about you, but I am full, stuffed, and quite frankly done with the gorge. SO, I thought it would be nice to start things off on a lighter note with a soup review recipe from Cooking Light magazine. Reviewed by Theresa Valentine, the recipe is essentially about how to turn a delicious baked potato into even more delicious baked potato soup. Although, not a traditional light soup per-say (there's  bacon and cheese in here), the soup does use reduced fat versions of milk and cheese products, making it a hearty meal and one that can even be modified based on preferences-maybe substituting potatoes for sweet potatoes, reduced fat milk for non-fat, soy or rice milk, or grilled onions and croutons for bacon? It is all up to you, but this is sure a good base to test out a soup of this nature. Check out Theresa's soupy experience below, as well as the recipe from Cooking Light mag.

Seriously Soupy: Did you follow the recipe word-for-word?
Theresa Valentine: I did. Well, except for the onions because in my opinion there's nothing worse than thinking you're biting into a chunk of potato and it's a chunk of onion, yuck!! 

Seriously Soupy: How did you modify this?

TV: I replaced the whole onion with onion and garlic powders, which gives it a nice flavor. I also usually throw the bacon and all cheese into the soup at the end instead of putting it in each individual bowl...it doesn't look as pretty that way, but it's still tasty :) 

Seriously Soupy: How did it taste?

TV: It is basically tastes like the goodness of a baked potato with all the trimmings! Pretty much a hearty and filling soup that's not super fattening.

Seriously Soupy: Was it difficult to prepare?

TV: It's pretty easy to make except for the whisking of the milk and flour, which I am apparently bad at because when it comes time to clean the pot there is always burnt flour on the bottom.  

Seriously Soupy: How long did it take to prepare?

TV: It doesn't take too long except for the baking of the potatoes which takes an hour, after that it maybe takes about a 1/2 hour to peel the potatoes and put it all together. 

And now on to the recipe!

Baked Potato Soup recipe from Cooking Light magazine.

All the flavors of a loaded baked potato come together in this rich, creamy soup.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions)

Ingredients:

• 4  baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
• 6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. Discard skins. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.

Well, there you have it-a simple and easy to prep potato soup. I cover these reviews every Monday and I would love to hear about your experiences with professionally developed recipes from chefs. And even better, please include pics of your soupy journey, so that they could be featured in an upcoming soup review article.


Seriously Soupy Serena
seriouslysoupy@gmail.com