Instant Pot Potato Chowder

This recipe makes about 8 servings. You can easily halve it; cook time will stay the same.

Ingredients: 

1/2 pound bacon, cut into bite size pieces

1 large onion, finely diced

3 celery stalks, trimmed and diced

2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced (about 8 potatoes)

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup water

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of frozen sweet corn

Directions:

1. Spray Instant Pot with cooking Spray. Set to Saute.

2. Cook bacon until crispy. Press Cancel.

3. Remove bacon from the pot and most of the grease. Leave about 1 Tbsp of grease.

4. Set to Saute again. Add onion, celery, and potatoes to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions soften. Add garlic and brown for 1 minute. 

5. Press Cancel. Add broth, water, bay leaves, and thyme. Stir soup and lock on the lid. Make sure the vent is set to Sealing.

6. Select Manual for 3 minutes. When time is done, press Cancel and switch the vent to Venting for a quick release. 

7. Scoop out about 3 ladles of soup mixture and blend in blender.

8. Add blended soup back to the Instant Pot with cream, frozen corn, and bacon bits. 

9. Select Saute and bring the soup just to a boil, stirring often. Once it comes to a boil, select Cancel again and soup is ready to serve. Don't forget to stir once or twice after the Instant Pot is off. The bottom stays hot for a few more minutes.

Hint: You can add frozen corn to the bowls of hot soup to help it cool faster, instead of adding it in step 8.

Hint: For thicker chowder you can blend more soup, or add a cornstarch slurry to the soup and bring back to a boil. We thought the thickenss was just right without adding cornstarch and only blending a small portion of the soup.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

My family really likes this creamy potato soup. I cut back on the bacon and changed the cream to milk and it still has plenty of flavor! Try it!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon
1/2 onion, minced
12 baby carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 Tb minced garlic
4 russet potatoes, diced
(up to 1/4 cup butter)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups milk
topping ideas: cheese, hot sauce, sour cream, bacon bits, green onion

Directions:
1. Brown the bacon. Remove from pan and drain most of the grease.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Stir often and cook for 5 min, or until onion is translucent.
3. Add garlic and potatoes. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add butter if sticking to the pan and if all of the bacon grease has been absorbed- up to 1/4 cup.
4. Add flour and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Add chicken broth, water, and spices. Bring to a low simmer and cook 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, but not mushy.
6. Add milk and bring back to a boil. Boil for 5 more minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Serve hot with suggested toppings.

adapted from:
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/01/carnation-cafe-closes-thursday-for-renovations-at-disneyland-park/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+DisneyParks+%2528Disney+Parks+Blog%2529&utm_content=Google+Reader

Easy Cheesy Southwest Chicken Soup

I got the base for this recipe off of the nacho cheese soup can. And then added a lot more ingredients to it. Since I made the recipe up and I have such a bad memory, I wrote it on this paper and then took a picture of it. The picture of the soup didn't look too great, so I am posting a picture of the recipe instead. :) But, it is a very yummy, oh-so-easy soup. Just open a bunch of cans and heat til warm. That's it. It is very similar to the chicken tortilla soup that I love, just creamier and cheesier.
Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can nacho cheese soup
2 (cans) of milk (fill the empty soup can with milk twice. You don't need to use canned milk)
1 can chicken broth
1 13 oz can chicken chunks, drained
1 can sweet corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes, diced and NOT drained
1 can green chilies
A few dashes of onion powder
Garlic powder to taste
Salsa, tortilla chips, and cheddar cheese for topping

Directions:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in large sauce pan. Blend until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Heat over medium heat until hot, not boiling. Stir constantly
4. Serve with salsa and tortilla chips, and more cheese if desired.

Pasta E Fagioli Soup

This soup was pretty tasty. It's supposedly a copy-cat recipe from the Olive Garden. It tasted like a beefy minestrone to me. I got it from Recipezaar, but have modified it a little.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
2 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
1 can water
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces pasta
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Brown beef in skillet, drain grease.
2. Add beef and all remaining ingredients, except pasta and spaghetti sauce, to large sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until vegetables are tender. About 15 min.
3. Add spaghetti sauce, bring back to a boil.
4. Add pasta, cook according to package
5. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Olive-Garden-Pasta-E-Fagioli-Soup-in-a-Crock-Pot-Copycat-31717

Black Bean Soup

This is really really good, even though it doesn't look all that appetizing in this picture I took. That's because I added corn to my soup, which changed the color of it. You can also add corn if you want, the flavor matched well. (However, add the corn after it's blended, just stir it in. I think that would be better.) I also over-chopped my carrots, and it still turned out delicious. I served it with corn bread muffins and salad.
Give it a try! Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large (10- to 12-ounce) onion, chopped
• 1 medium (4- to 6-ounce) red pepper, chopped (I used canned)
  
• 2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) crushed red pepper
• Salt
• 2 cup(s) water
• 2 can(s) (15- to 19-ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can(s) (14 to 14.5-ounce) reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lime juice

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Directions

1. In 6-quart saucepot, heat oil on medium until hot. Add carrots, garlic, onion, and pepper; cook 12 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Add cumin, crushed red pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute.
2. Stir in water, beans, and broth; heat to boiling on medium-high. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Ladle 3 cups soup into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to allow steam to escape, and blend until pureed. Stir puree into soup in saucepot; heat through on medium. Stir in cilantro and lime juice, and garnish with cilantro sprigs to serve. Makes about 6 1/2 cups.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/black-bean-soup-recipe