Baked Potato Soup

It's been so cold in Utah lately. And snowy. If I'm not out skiing or snowboarding, my next favorite way to spend a snowy day is cuddled up on the couch with a warm blanket and have a hot bowl of soup for dinner. I used to think that my Roasted Carrot Bacon Soup was my new favorite soup, but this Baked Potato Soup is even better. It's like a warm hug in a bowl. 

There aren't a whole lot of ingredients and it doesn't take all that long to make. And it's even better the next day. Next time I'm definitely going to have to make a double batch.

Baked Potato Soup

3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 slices of bacon
1 onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
4 cups chicken broth
1 can coconut milk

1. Cook bacon in a dutch oven sized pot over medium heat. Remove bacon when crispy and keep the grease in the pot.
2. Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook until the onion is tender.
3. Add the potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are very tender. (About 15-20 min).
4. Mash the potatoes in the pot until your desired smoothness. I left some chunks and it added a nice texture.
5. Stir in the coconut milk and crumbled bacon.

Bison Meatloaf and Squashed Potatoes

Meatloaf is one of my favorite comfort foods. I had been making my meatloaf pretty much the same way for years (1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage), but with Tommy's allergies we usually stay clear of prepared sausages and their mystery spices. So last night's meatloaf was a combination of ground bison and pork. I made a pork and turkey meatloaf a while back, and while it tasted good, the color was way too light for my preference. It just didn't seem right to me. To me, it's not meatloaf unless there's some red meat in there.

My secret to a gluten, egg and dairy free meatloaf is to use dry minced onions in place of the breadcrumbs. I like having onion in there anyway, and this way I don't have to sacrifice homemade bread to make breadcrumbs. And the tablespoon of coconut flour really helps with the binding too. Trust me, you won't end up with coconut flavored meat. This was our favorite Tommy safe meatloaf so far.

I guess I should be glad that my toddler hasn't become addicted to french fries, but at the same time, it's a little annoying sometimes that he won't eat white potatoes. He only likes orange sweet potatoes. It's great for the nutritional value, but I do miss making a big pot of traditional mashed potatoes to go with meatloaf. Last night I made Squashed Potatoes. It's a mixture of boiled russet potatoes and roasted acorn squash. That was a good blend of squash and white potatoes. The mixture was colorful enough for Tommy but still had some of that regular mashed potato flavor. Win-win! 

Bison and Pork Meatloaf

1.25 lb ground bison
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup dry minced onion
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup apple juice
3 oz tomato paste
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dry rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the minced onion and coconut milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In another small bowl, combine the tomato paste and apple juice
4. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add in the onion mixture and 2/3rds of the tomato mixture. Mix thoroughly with your hands. 
5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or foil. Form the meat into a loaf. 
6. Spread the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the meatloaf.
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 160°F.
8. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Squashed Potatoes

2 acorn squash
2 russet potatoes
1 Tbsp refined coconut oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Slice the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. 
3. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place the squash cut side down on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 45 minutes until the squash are soft. Let cool.
5. Remove the squash flesh from the skins and set aside. Note: The squash can be prepared up to this point earlier in the day.
6. Peel and cut the potatoes into big chunks. Place the potatoes in a dutch oven pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and boil until the potatoes can be broken apart by a fork.
7. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. 
8. Mash the potatoes and add in the squash and remaining ingredients. 
9. Heat mixture over medium low until warmed. 

Not Your Grandma's Potatoes

Ben's grandma has a recipe for DELICIOUS au gratin potatoes. But they contain a lot of dairy and wheat. So I created a recipe for gluten and dairy free au gratin potatoes. Although, since they don't have cheese or breadcrumbs on top, I guess they aren't technically au gratin potatoes anymore. 

I used a combination of canola oil, tapioca starch and coconut milk to make the white sauce. And I topped them with dry minced onions and cooked crumbled bacon. They definitely are not Ben's grandma's potatoes, but they are delicious in their own right. These can easily be vegan if you just leave off the bacon. They have a nice coconut flavor and the bacon on top adds a nice salty crunch. 

Even Tommy liked them, and he usually spits out any white potatoes. 

Not Your Grandma's Potatoes

2.5 lbs red potatoes
4 strips cooked and crumbled bacon
13.5 oz can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbsp dry minced onion
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 tsp dry rosemary
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place the potatoes whole in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and boil for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes can just be pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.
3. In a small saucepot, heat the canola oil on medium heat. Whisk in the tapioca starch. Add the coconut milk, rosemary, pepper and salt and whisk. Simmer until thickened.
4. Dice the potatoes into small cubes. 
5. In a 9 x 9 baking dish, combine the potatoes and white sauce.
6. Top with the minced onion and bacon.
7. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm.

The Infamous Fruit Ketchup (Coconut Chicken Nugget Dinner)

I saw on one of my favorite websites, Brittany Angell’s Real Sustenance (www.realsustenance.com), that she had a recipe for baked chicken nuggets that used coconut as the breading. I thought that sounded delicious. And since chicken nuggets are just begging for a dipping sauce, I thought it’d be the perfect time to try making my own ketchup.

I LOVE the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It has so many interesting recipes. They have a couple different recipes for ketchup, and one of them was a fruit ketchup. It seemed to be a pretty straight forward recipe and I would only need to modify it a little. He had previously had all of the ingredients I used except honey. And he had only had ground mustard twice. (We were trialing mustard with a German potato salad, but Tommy doesn't really care for white potatoes so he wouldn't really eat it.)

I spent one whole afternoon making the ketchup. I had to peel and dice all the fruits, cook the mixture, run it through a food mill and then reduce the juices. Then I canned the ketchup. 

The whole process took about four hours. I felt so proud that I had made my own ketchup for Tommy that wasn’t filled with any mystery spices or “natural flavors.” And it was delicious.

When I was finally done canning the ketchup and thoroughly exhausted because I had gotten up early that day, I was really ready to take a break. But right then, as if on cue, Tommy woke up from his nap. By the time Ben got home from work I was getting pretty crabby.  But I was still feeling like a domestic goddess for making and canning my own ketchup.

For dinner I made the coconut popcorn chicken from Brittany Angell’s Real Sustenance, Roasted Mixed Potatoes, and Garlic Roasted Broccoli. I cooked all three dishes in the same oven and everything was ready AT THE SAME TIME. I was pretty proud of that. I felt like I had totally rocked making dinner.

Tommy loved the ketchup. He was dipping his chicken nuggets like a pro. About ten minutes into dinner I noticed a little hive on Tommy’s cheek. Sometimes he gets a random hive here and there and we usually attribute those to our dog. As he kept eating, a few more hives appeared. It then became pretty clear that Tommy was allergic to something in the ketchup. So it looks like either honey or mustard will be added to the allergy list.

It was so defeating. I had spent all afternoon making that stupid ketchup. I really thought I was making one that would be safe for Tommy. And after all that work, he can’t eat it after all.

On the plus side dinner was DELICIOUS! The ketchup had a nice sweet and spicy flavor. I imagine the taste will only continue to improve the longer it sits on the shelf. The chicken nuggets were nice and crispy, and the broccoli and potatoes really rounded out the meal. Best of all the whole dinner only took me like an hour. Not including making the ketchup…

I’m not abandoning the plan to make a Tommy safe ketchup. But next time I think I’ll just use cane sugar and leave out the mustard.

Coconut Chicken Nugget Dinner

Game Plan:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F

2. Peel and chop the potatoes.

3. Combine the potatoes, oil, salt, pepper and rosemary in a roasting pan.

4. Put the potatoes in the oven and start a timer for 40 min.

5. Wash and cut the broccoli.

6. Toss the broccoli with the oil and garlic on a baking sheet

7. Place broccoli in oven when timer reads 30 min.

8. Combine coconut flakes, salt and pepper in a gallon sized bag.

9. Cut chicken into nugget sized pieces.

10. Add chicken to the bag and shake to evenly coat the chicken pieces.

11. Place chicken nuggets in oven when timer reads 20 min.

Mixed Roasted Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes

3 small russet potatoes

2 Tbsp canola oil

½ tsp dried rosemary

½ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Peel and chop all the potatoes into approximately one inch cubes. Combine all the ingredients in a 9” x 13” baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring twice during the cooking.

Garlic Roasted Broccoli

2 large or 3 small heads of broccoli

2 Tbsp canola oil

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Wash the broccoli and peel the stalks. Chop the broccoli into florets and slice the stalks. Toss all the ingredients together on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through the baking. 

Coconut Popcorn Chicken (recipe by Brittany Angell)

http://realsustenance.com/popcorn-chicken-grainnutegg-free/

I used 1.25 lb chicken tenders cut into approximately inch long pieces and only 1 cup of coconut flakes. And I tossed the chicken, coconut and salt and pepper in a gallon sized bag instead of a bowl. This made it easier and less messy to coat all the chicken pieces. Since I used chicken tenders instead of chicken thighs and baked them at a higher temperature, they only needed 20 min.

Infamous Fruit Ketchup

Makes about five 8 oz jars

4 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed

4 cups chopped pitted peeled peaches

2 cups chopped cored peeled apples

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 cup honey

½ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine tomatoes, peaches, and apples. Over medium low heat, using a spatula or large spoon, mash the fruit until the juices flow. Add onion and garlic. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until fruit is heated through and onions are transparent. About 15 minutes.

2. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Working in batches, run the mixture through a food mill or sieve placed over the saucepan to extract all the juice. Measure out five cups and discard the solids.

3. Add the honey, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, about 45 minutes. It will be thinner than commercial ketchup.

4. Meanwhile, prepare canner, lids and jars.

5. Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until finger-tight.

6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Add 10 minutes additional time if boiling around 4500 ft altitude. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool for 12-24 hours and store.