Sometimes when you’re chilly there is nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to get your innards warmed up. Other than vacuuming, there really isn’t anything that is going to warm you up from the inside out!

This tasty soup is from Cooking Light, and although it uses lower fat ingredients, if no one told you there were lower fat ingredients, I promise you, you would never know. NEVER. KNOW. That’s part of what makes this such a good recipe. It’s a fairly quick soup to make after the potatoes are baked. Mmmm, this is looking too good right now!!

So, if you were sitting there thinking… Ugh, I’m in a rut and need to try something new but want it to be pretty healthy, hey, this is for you!

I use Cracker Barrel 2% Extra Sharp cheese, it’s great, and it’s my “go to” cheese for recipes. It’s in every grocery store in Charleston, but I know other areas don’t carry it (Algonac, MI, darnit!). Serving size is 1 1/2 cups and let me tell ya… you will be full! Especially after adding a sprinkle of shredded extra sharp cheese, some green onions and some crispy bacon… oh la la… I edited the recipe to show less flour, otherwise it was too thick for us.

BAKED POTATO SOUP  

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (or 1 small bunch, whites cut off)
• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; 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 1/2 teaspoon 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). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Catch you back here tomorrow!