Cream of Potato Soup

I remember the first time I had creamy potato soup. My sister had to make it if for a Girl Scout function. It was love at first bite. This is not your typical cream of potato soup, but it is tasty!

Serves: 10

6 large peeled baking potatoes

Enough water to cover potatoes by a little over an inch when chopped in a pot.

1 large Vidalia onion, minced

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tablespoons Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing mix

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

Dash of paprika

1 pound bacon, cooked and chopped

8 ounces sour cream

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Chop 2 potatoes into small squares and place in a small baking dish. Bake until soft, about 15 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside until later.

Meanwhile, quarter remaining potatoes and place with the onions into a large soup pot.

Add water to the pot until it covers the potato chunks by at least 1 inch bring to a boil. Boil potato chunks until very soft, then turn off heat and allow standing until the pot is calm.

Very carefully use a masher to mash the potatoes while they are still under the water in the pot. Add the margarine to the pot as you are mashing. Continue to mash until you have a creamy thick soup.

Bring the pot to a simmer; add garlic and all remaining ingredients except cheese. Add the baked potato squares from earlier.

Keep stirring and simmering until the bacon gets a bit soft, usually about 10 minutes. Add all the cheeses, and keep stirring until cheese has melted entirely into the soup.

Check soup consistency. If it is too thick for your taste, simply add a cup of water and check again after stirring the soup for a few minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, serve.

Stop Your Seasoning Packet Addiction, Part Two; Ranch Dressing…

Did you know there really is a “Hidden Valley Ranch”? The actual ranch is near Santa Barbara, California. The Henson family opened the dude ranch in 1954. Besides the beautiful scenery at Hidden Valley, the people kept coming back for the wonderful house salad dressing; which was the only dressing served.

1972 Mr. Henson sold the Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing to the Clorox Company for $8 million. Clorox changed the recipe a bit before making it available in 1983.

Since 1992 Ranch dressing has become the most popular salad dressing in the United States, moving Italian dressing to the second more popular.

The Henson’s version of Ranch Dressing was made with buttermilk. One of the changes the Clorox Company made in the seasoning packet was add butter. The reasoning behind this was most typical families did not keep buttermilk in their homes. By adding butter, the consumer could now use regular milk.

I did some pricing the other day at the grocery store and found a single seasoning packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and dip mix was $1.68, but it was on sale at the time for $1.50. Personally for me that is a ton of money when you add it up over time for ONE TABLESPOON of mix.  

Throughout the year, if I used one packet per week, that means I spend around $88.00 on seasoning packets. Besides making the dip, I also use the packet for cornbread salad, roasted red potatoes, hamburgers, roast beef, and meatloaf.

 As I said the first time sometimes, the ease is not worth money spent, and most of us have a majority of the spices in our cabinets waiting to be used. Personally, the only ingredient I did not have was the dried dill weed I had dill seeds.

 I have found using 7 Ritz and 8 saltine crackers has personally given me a better tasting mix. This something you will have to play with and decide for yourself.

Todd Wilbur’s Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix recipe…

DRESSING MIX

·         15 saltines, ground up

·         2 cups dried minced parsley flakes

·         1/2 cup dried minced onion

·         2 tablespoons dried dill weed

·         1/4 cup onion salt

·         1/4 cup garlic salt

·         1/4 cup onion powder

·         1/4 cup garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until completely combined.

Store in a airtight container for up to one year.

This recipe will make 42 packets

To make the salad dressing:

·         1 tablespoon Dressing Mix -- from the above

·         1 cup mayonnaise

·         1 cup buttermilk

Roast Ranch Red Potatoes:

1 Tablespoon of Ranch mix

¼ cup of vegetable oil

2 lbs, baby red potatoes

Roasting bag

Directions:

Preheat oven 350°F

Wash and cube the potatoes in to bite size pieces

Add potatoes to roasting bag add mix and oil.

Massage bag until the potatoes are well coated with mix and oil.

Close bag, place on cookie sheet and cook on top rack for half hour

Transfer potatoes from bag to bowl for serving.