I eat fast food more than a person should. I’m always on the go all over the place with work, and when I get to dine out… fast food is usually a safe shellfish-(and therefore death)-free option. Wendy’s burgers are pretty good. I like a baked potato more than fries sometimes… if I have time to sit & eat.
In my never-ending quest to be ridiculous for absolutely no reason other than self-amusement, I present this to you:
Ha! That didn't take long.
Wendy's on Racetrack Rd. In Washington PA this morning…
Wrong bun. Wrong cheese. Cheese was cold. Not nearly melted. Biscuit destroyed when I opened it.
I’ve never made potato soup before. I read a few recipes, and decided to make my own style. It wasn’t bad for the first time! I wanted to save it for later for myself, so I thought I’d share while I was at it.
I wanted something that would pair well with Reubens, and I think this hit the spot. I have been on a corned beef kick lately.
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
½ sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
Handful of shredded carrots
lil’ bag of “bacon pieces.”
Cup of flour
½ of a 5 lb. bag of gold potatoes
Box chicken broth
Box vegetable broth
2 cups milk
½-ish cup heavy cream
Dollop sour cream
Shredded Cheese: sharp cheddar, Gouda, extra sharp white cheddar – maybe a cup combined.
Pepper, salt, white pepper, paprika, season-all, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley. Use your own best judgement.
Method:
I sort-of peeled about half a bag of gold potatoes, & diced them up… cubes smaller than an inch, maybe ½” to ¾”.
Chopped up half of a sweet onion, and a hanful of shredded carrots. Maybe 2 handsful. Hadfuls?
Minced 4 cloves of garlic. Probably could have used more.
Put the soup pot on the stove… melted butter over medium, sautéed the onions & carrots for a bit, before adding the garlic… then the bacon pieces and the 2nd chopped up stick o’ butter. I hit it with some spices.
Mixed some spices in the flour, and whisked that into the overly buttered sautéed bits, then let it brown a lil’ bit.
Added the boxes of stock, milk, cream, & sour cream.
Plopped in the potatoes.
Brought it to a boil, still over medium. Stirred it a lot. A lot.
Let it boil for like 15 minutes… then added the shredded cheese. I eyeballed it so my “measurement” could be way off.
Stirred it again. A lot.
Used an immersion blender to blend about half the potatoes to thicken the soup.
Let it sit while I made Reubens.
Served with a smaller dollop of sour cream, bacon bits, & mix of shredded cheese on top.
Notes:
I bought a pack of instant mashed potatoes in case I needed to cheat and thicken up the soup. I didn’t need to, but I bet that would wok if I wanted more potato chunks & to skip the blending?
Ham or pork bullion/broth would probably reinforce the bacon flavor?
I wonder if roasting the potoates before adding to the soup would add some more flavor?
Parmesan cheese may have been good too?
Could have upped the spice with some cayenne or more white pepper, or maybe put tobaso/red hot in the serving bowl?
Could have used real bacon, fried it in the bottom 1st & used that grease to mix with the flour… but I didn’t feel like opening a pack of back only to use 4 or so strips.
Chives would be good if that’s your thing.
Any suggestions? Like I said, I wanted to pair it with Reubens. I have been on a corned beef kick. You don’t need a recipe for that, do you? Let me know if you do.
Like I said, I have been on a corned beef kick lately…