Baked Potato Soup 3/1/14

So I want to take a moment to talk about Lactose Intolerance. You will see recipes and posts that will have certain types of cheeses in them. I want to explain why. I am able to tolerate small doses of harder (less milky/not soft) cheeses. So things like parmesan, and cheddar I can have in small doses. Anything like milk or ice cream will just straight up be a no go. This is because different dairy products have different molecular structures and will have more or less dairy. So because of this, I can do small doses of cheese, cottage cheese, and butter. I love butter. When I was diagnosed, I refused to just give up on the food front, and I had to just test my boudaries. So I will try to incorporate ideas of how to take out those things if need be.

So lets get on with the first food post!

This recipe is technically a "vegetarian" option. But usually I add bacon, cause God knows how much I love bacon.

First, you'll need all these ingredients....
5 medium- standard size potatoes, peeled and cubed (I tend to use 7)
approximately 3 stalks of celery finely diced
1 onion diced
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cloves of minced garlic- 1/4 teaspoon of the already chopped garlic=1 clove of garlic
1/4 C butter
1/2 C parmesan cheese
1/2 C sharp cheddar- both cheese should be grated
black pepper- to your liking
1tsp salt
1/3 tsp of garlic powder (or extra minced garlic)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried dill

and Bacon. as much as you want- cut in to cubes

I tend to use a few more potatoes than the recipe calls for, because the potatoes in AK tend to be a bit smaller when you buy them in bulk. I also tend to use "Organic" broth vegetable broth because I am incredibly allergic to turmeric, and MSG makes my Hashimoto's disease medicine give me horrible heart palpitations-- **Small tidbit of info: broths you buy at the store often contain Monosodium Glutamate  which is a flavor enhancer** CHECK ALL LABELS ON PACKAGES AT ALL TIMES. Even though the recipe calls for 3 C of vegetable broth, I usually put in 4, because I add extra potatoes.

Once you've prepped your potatoes and veggies, plop all of the ingredients into a crock pot. I love, love, LOVE crockpots. I swear by them, & I own two. This is the beautiful 7 QT crockpot my husband and I got as a wedding gift last summer. Put everything in, stir it up and set it on low for 6-8 hours.

It'll look like this ^ & it will smell amazing

Then take your potato masher ^ and mash your soup up. There should be a mix of small chunks of potato but pulverized ones in there too. You want this soup to have potato chunks.

 you can garnish the top with red pepper flakes, onions, sour cream, plain greek yogurt or grated cheddar cheese. 

I hope you enjoy!

--M