Loaded Potato Soup

For blogmas this year, I decided to switch it up and highlight local bloggers in the area that you should already be following! My second guest post comes from Ashley, from https://www.naturallynati.com/about.html and she is sharing with us a loaded potato soup that is perfect for the season. Be sure to check out all of her information at the end of this post!

If I am going to try to blog every day for a month, I’m going to start out with what I know. And I KNOW good food. One of my most favorite fall/winter meals is a good loaded potato soup. DisclaImer: this is not healthy. Just hearty and delicious.

Last Christmas I received an instant pot, and while the verdict is still out as to whether or not it’s worth the price tag (and more than the price tag – the cabinet space) for my cooking style, it definitely is amazing for soups and potatoes. I am a big advocate for time saving, and love to multi-task. So I use the half stove top/ half instant pot method for this dish. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2lbs of red potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 cups milk (I use 2% because that is what we have for the kiddos)
• 1 packet Trader Joe’s chicken flavor (See below for a pic of this item)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 3 green onions (diced)
• 2 Tablespoons crushed red pepper 
• Cooked and chopped bacon for topping
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:

1. Wash and place potatoes in instant pot with 1 cup of water. 
2. Set timer for 10 minutes.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, heat and melt the butter on the stove top over medium heat. 
4. Once butter is melted, slowly whisk in flour a little at a time.
5. Once combined and bubbling, add milk and chicken flavor. Continue to whisk.
6. Add sour cream, cheese and green onions while continuing to stir. 
7. Once mixed thoroughly, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.
8. When potatoes are finished, drain the water from the instant pot and smash. (I don’t have a real smasher- so I use an icecream scoop 🤷🏻‍♀️)
9. Add potatoes to the cheesy base, top with more shredded cheese (because you can never have too much cheese….actually that is a lie. Once I had too much cheese in college and ended up in the ER with a gallbladder attack), bacon and green onions.

The good part about this recipe is that it makes 5-6 servings. So it’s good for a small get together, tailgate, or to have leftovers for lunch. I cook the base in a big 8 quart pot. Then I just add the potatoes there. You can do the whole thing in the instant pot, but then you have 10 minutes to waste, have to move a bunch of ingredients around…. and this way it’s two birds, one stone.