Baked Potato Soup and Parmesan Broccoli

Back to my "Cooking Experiment". Honestly, I haven't cooked any new recipes in a while. This one is from a few months back and then there are a couple more that I need to post about and that's it. I am going to get back into it this week. I subscribed to "The Food Network" magazine and I still get "Everyday with Rachael Ray" plus Rodger got me a "Real Simple" subscription for Christmas and I have some great cookbooks so there is no excuse for me not to be doing this. It is fun when I actually do it and I feel proud of myself when I cook something new but it's just the actual organizing and buying everything I need that makes me procrastinate. Like I said, though, this week I am back to it.

Anyhow, a few months ago I made this Baked Potato Soup along with Parmesan Broccoli as a side dish. Here are the recipes.

Ingredients

2 large baking potatoes (about 8 ounces each)
6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (3)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill or chives or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 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 3 tablespoons of the green onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour, dill, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. 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)

It was pretty easy to make but took me a lot longer than I thought it would. Baking potatoes took forever and then the soup itself didn't take all that long. And I forgot to cook any bacon for topping but that's okay, the bacon wasn't really necessary.

Here is the broccoli recipe.

Preheat a baking sheet on the lower rack in a 450 oven. Blanch 1 head chopped broccoli in boiling water with salt and sliced garlic for 1 minute; drain. Toss with a splash of olive oil, a handful each of breadcrumbs and Parmesan, salt and pepper. Place on the hot baking sheet and top with more cheese and breadcrumbs; roast until golden, 15 minutes.

Really east and a good way to make broccoli tasty and still eat a healthy vegetable.

The two recipes went together well. It just took a long time to make so if you want to eat about six I would suggest starting around 4 or 4:30. I believe we ate at like 9pm that night. But it's all good, the soup was perfect for the cold weather we had that night.