We had a fantastic Christmas. Yes, the kids received lots of gifts and food was in abundance. Although that did add to the joy, that wasn't what made it a great Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we stopped all of our activities and we went to church in the afternoon. It was nice to stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Sometimes it is so easy to get involved in every day life and not stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
We have been blessed in so many ways and sometimes we forget that when trials come our way.
After church on Christmas Eve Larissa and Michelle played very nicely together. This is actually a rare thing because Michelle has control and jealousy issues that impair her ability to play nicely.
Before we went to church we tried out a new potato soup crockpot recipe.
John and Sarah made it and it was ready for us when we came back from church. It was delicious.
7 cups chicken broth
8 cups of diced potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cups onions, FINELY chopped
3 cups celery, FINELY chopped
1 stick butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 lbs bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
8 oz Colby cheese, shredded
8 oz Monterrey Jack, shredded
8 oz Sharp Cheddar, shredded
16 oz Velvetta, cubed
2 lb bag of Ore Ida Southern Style Hashbrowns, thawed in the refrigerator overnight
Salt and Pepper to taste
Place chicken broth, diced potatoes, salt and pepper in large pot. Boil until potatoes are tender. Do not drain.
In separate skillet, saute onions and celery in butter until tender. Mix half the onions and celery in the potatoes and broth.
In batches, blend this until smooth. (She didn't say, but you could most likely use your immersion blender here if you had one)
Place in Crockpot. Add remaining onions and celery, heavy cream, bacon and cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted. Add hash browns and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours until hashbrowns are done.
Serve with extra bacon and cheese on top if desired (naturally we did)
This recipe filled the big crockpot that we have all the way to the top although we did add a little extra heavy cream. We used my new mixer to puree the vegetables and it did a great job.
I think that's the crock pot I'm buying myself in a couple of weeks for my bd. My other one has a crack in the lift out part. Of course it's 25 years old at least--older because that's how long Rick's had it and I think his parents gave it to him after they'd used it before that. Plan to try your recipe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the soup recipe ... I look forward to trying it!
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