National Soup Swap Day January 21st

National Soup Swap Day was Jan. 21, but I'm celebrating all season long with Betty Crocker's very best bisques, chowders and stews. Last Sunday a group from Rogers Park was serving free vegan potato soup, at the Red Line Morse stop, it was so cold, the soup was so perfect. They served it along  with a spinach salad with a scope of avocado, and kiwi pie.

Cold winter days are no match to the warmth and comfort of these soups. They’re the perfect base for layering on additional flavors. Spiked with beer, loaded with beef, or decked out with baked potatoes and all the fixings, there’s no wrong way to make a classic cheesy soup.
 

Southwest Potato-Corn Chowder

Seafood, corn and potatoes are the basic building blocks for creating great chowders and bisques. But the list of ingredients doesn’t stop there. Add broccoli to the mix for Creamy Corn and Broccoli Chowder or experiment with tomatoes in our Fire Roasted Tomato-Basil Crab Bisque. There’s a wide world of soup out there, so don’t be afraid to try something new.

6 unpeeled medium red potatoes (1 1/2 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes 3 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton) 1 1/4 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 1 1/2 cups Green Giant® frozen corn 1/3 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper (from a jar), well drained 1/3 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour 1 cup milk 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese (4 oz) 1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Greek Fat Free plain yogurt 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 4 medium green onions, finely chopped (1/4 cup) 4 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled.

1 In 3-quart saucepan, place potatoes. Add water just to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and boil gently (simmer) about 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Reserve 1 cup potatoes; return remaining potatoes to saucepan. In small bowl, mash reserved potatoes with fork.

2 Stir reserved mashed potatoes back into remaining potatoes in saucepan, along with broth, sugar, garlic salt, pepper, ground red pepper, corn and roasted red bell pepper. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 3 In small bowl, stir flour into milk with whisk until well mixed; stir into potato mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cheese until melted. Remove from heat; stir in yogurt, cilantro and green onions. Serve topped with bacon and, if desired, additional green onion.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

 

 

Reynolds™ Slow Cooker Liners

1  bag (32 oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes, thawed

1/2  cup frozen chopped onion (from 12-oz bag), thawed

1     medium stalk celery, diced (1/2 cup)

1     carton (32-oz) Progresso® chicken broth

1     cup water

3     tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1     cup milk

1     bag (8 oz) shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)

1/4  cup real bacon pieces (from 2.8-oz package)

4     medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)                                           

• 1 Place Reynolds™ Slow Cooker Liners inside a 5- to 6 1/2 -qt slow cooker bowl. Make sure that liner fits snugly against the bottom and sides of bowl and pull the top of the liner over rim of bowl.
• 2 In lined slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water.
• 3 Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
• 4 In small bowl, mix flour into milk; stir into potato mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions. Sprinkle with pepper if desired