Soup is a top favorite when it comes to appetizers and snacks. It is both healthy and hydrating because of its high water content. It can also stand as a meal by itself – just prepare a creamy soup, pair it with a slice of bread or two and you’re good to go!

Here are 3 creamy soup recipes we’re sure you’ll love:

The Classic Mushroom

What you need:

• 1 cup chopped Portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter then cook Portobello mushroom, shiitake mushroom and shallots until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and stir until smooth. Carefully add chicken broth and continue stirring until mixture is thick. Stir in half-and-half and cinnamon then season with salt and pepper. Cook until heated through.

Sausage Potato Warmer

What you need:

• 1/2 kilogram kielbasa sausage, sliced into half moons
• 1/2 kilogram smoked sausage, sliced into half moons
• 2 1/2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch salt

In a large pot over medium heat, cook smoked sausage, kielbasa sausage and onions until sausages are browned. Add potato, water and bay leaves to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 hours. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and flour then carefully add milk. Stir until mixture is thickened. Add mixture to the pot with sausages and mix until all ingredients are well-combined. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Zucchini Cream

What you need:

• 1 1/2 kilogram zucchini, sliced
• 4 slices bacon
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

In a large pot, combine zucchini, bacon, garlic, onion, water, chicken broth, salt, pepper and basil. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Puree mixture in batches until smooth and creamy. Top with Parmesan cheese.

With these creamy soup recipes, a cold night will surely be the least of your problems.

Pringles is a popular potato and rice flavored snack chips manufactured and marketed by a global manufacturing corporation, Procter and Gamble. Pringles is sold in more than 140 countries worldwide and earns annual revenue of over $1 billion. Pringles come in a distinctive can coated with aluminum. The brand logo depicts a character sporting a large bushy mustache and is prominently displayed. The standard flavors are Original, Cheese, BBQ, Hot and Spicy, Sour Cream and Onion, and Cheese and Onion.

Potato chips are a fairly new cooking invention. An American chef George Speck invented them in New York in 1853. Restaurants and pretzel companies were selling salted potato chips as snacks by the turn of the century. A mechanical potato peeler was invented in the 1920s. Before that, potato chips were peeled by hand. Sales of potato chips nationally occurred in 1930s and they were common in store shelves after the Second World War.

Alexander Liepa who was an American was working for the US Army invented a potato chip that was not peeled and cut and was made from potato flakes. The idea was to create a snack that could be made easily in remote US bases. Liepa took his patent to Procter & Gamble in 1968 that supported his recipe. This resulted in creation of a product named Pringle’s Newfangled Potato Chips.

P&G workers have mentioned that the name Pringles was picked for its similarity with a street called Pringle Street in Finneytown – Ohio. This was because the name was appealing. The marketing staff of P&G believed that that would have no trouble in introducing Pringles as the name was easy to pronounce and remember.

For producing Pringles, new machinery and techniques were required involving mixing of rice flour, potato flakes, water and other ingredients. When smooth dough is made, it is cut in to thin round pieces, placed in baking trays are then fried very quickly in a machine. Seasoning is also quickly added before the chips are sent to a stacking machine that packs the chips in distinctive Pringles containers.

The distinctive can used for packaging Pringles is specially designed. Pringle chips are not like regular chips and are very delicate. They can be crushed easily so a special container is needed for storing them. Fredric Baur who worked in the food storage department of P&G came up with the idea to develop a container. He designed a foil lined can made by rolling lengths of cardboard into a cylindrical tube. This protected the chips which are stacked. The aluminum foil in the can prevents the air from entering inside keeping the chips fresh.

In the beginning, Pringles were only sold in selected regions close to Cincinnati. However the chips were marketed globally by 1976. Pringles have a unique taste that is less harsh than regular potato chips. Market research by P&G suggested that this made Pringles chips much easier to eat. The recipe for Pringles chips places the snack in a different tax category as regular chips.

Traditional nursery food has made a come back in our family recently. I haven’t bothered making shepherd’s pie (or cottage pie, as it is also known) for ages, as the children just used to eat the potato from the top and leave the mince. Mince in general has been rejected too. If I use the same minced beef to make meatballs or burgers the kids devour it, but they hate picking out all the little bits of vegetables that I hopefully put into it, when I make the shepherd’s pie, in the hope of smuggling a few vegetables into their diet. Anyway my son actually requested shepherd’s pie the other day, so yesterday I made it and they gobbled it up, vegetables and all, several servings each, so I’ve gained one more dish for the regular list.

Recipe for Shepherd’s Pie

To feed four

500g/1lb good quality minced beef or lamb (hamburger beef)

1 onion

2 carrots

1 stick of celery

1 clove garlic

2 large fresh tomatoes or half a tin of tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

a dash of wine

a few drops Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

water or stock

potatoes

small piece of butter – about 20g/1oz and milk to mash with

Finely chop the onion and saute over a low heat in the olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the carrot, celery and garlic also finely chopped. Saute all together for five minutes. Turn up the heat and add the meat, breaking up the lumps and cooking until it has just lost the raw redness. Don’t overdo it at this point. Add the splosh of wine, (white or red, whatever you have open. If you don’t have any it’s not essential) and stir till it has evaporated the alcohol. Add the tomatoes skinned and chopped. Now put in the rest of the seasonings and pour in enough water or stock to only just cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, put on a lid and leave to cook at a simmer for 1-2 hours.

The quantity of potatoes depends on how many you have to feed. You can have a thin layer of potato topping or if you need to stretch the meat to feed lots of people, a really thick layer of potato, which is what the children prefer anyway. Peel the potatoes and boil them till soft. Then drain all the water away and let the steam evaporate, so they dry a little then mash them with the butter, milk and salt and pepper until they are soft, but not too runny, mashed potatoes. In a roasting dish or any ovenproof but not too shallow dish, put the cooked meat in a thick layer, then top with the mashed potatoes. Smooth them out with a fork, so there are lines and swirls and peaks of potato that will brown nicely and put the dish into a preheated oven 200C/400F for twenty minutes or until the top has browned to golden. If the meat and potatoes have only just finished cooking and still hot you can just brown the top under the grill. This can all be assembled and kept in the fridge until needed too, then it would need at least thirty minutes to cook through again.

Traditionally shepherd’s pie was made with minced lamb and cottage pie with minced beef but my family has always called both shepherd’s pie. It also used to be a dish to use up leftover cooked meat from a roast, rather than starting fresh with raw mince, but we like it like this – comfort food for winter.

Copyright 2006 Kit Heathcock

Damn, I’m a good wife! A few days ago, my husband dropped a few hints – Hiroshima-sized ones – that he would be tickled if a bowl of chicken and corn chowder dropped from the heavens into his eager hands. Ask and you shall receive. Okay, so maybe I felt the need to make up for the frequent accumulation of papers that I have squirreled away in various parts of our house. Not cool when your husband is neat as a pin on a clutter-phobe’s pincushion. Or perhaps it’s the guilt over smashing his beloved Red Tail Ale pint glass. Whatever it was, my infractions of the “live in harmony” law were pardoned after the first slurp of this creamy, aromatic soup.

This chowder is based off of a recipe from Cooking Light Magazine. Even after considerable changes, I believe we can still call it light. As my husband is rather fond of southwestern flavors and a little heat, I added a can of chiles and a pinch of cayenne pepper. The original recipe called for 2% milk. However, since there was none to be found in my fridge, I substituted skim milk. To make up for the richness lacking in skim milk, I added a can corn to accompany the whole kernels. Oh yeah, and I added an extra strip of bacon. No excuses required for that. The robust aroma gave way to an intensely satisfying soup that indulged my husband’s craving and warmed us to our toes.

First, bacon is cooked in a large saucepan. Once crisp, the bacon is set aside for later garnishing. Bite-sized pieces of chicken and a mixture of vegetables, including onion, red bell pepper, and garlic are sauteed. Next, a can of green chiles is added for a boost of flavor and a little heat. Once chicken broth and potatoes are included, the soup simmers for about 20 minutes before the corn is stirred in.

To aid in the transition from soup to chowder, a slurry of milk and flour is added to the pot and the mixture is simmered for an additional 15 minutes. Right before serving, a handful of sharp Cheddar cheese and a pinch of cayenne pepper are thrown in to round of the flavors. The chowder is then ladled into bowls and garnished with chopped scallions, grated Cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. If desired, break some tortilla chips over each portion of soup.

What an easy, satisfying meal for any night of the week.

A slow cooker is usually used to prepare a large batch of a dish that caters to a group of people. But if you live alone, having plenty of leftovers is a problem you have to face. But who says that crockpots can only cook dishes ideal for groups? You can definitely use your crockpot to prepare a dish that is good for one or two people only.

Here are delicious slow cooker recipes for one you can enjoy at home:

Crockpot Chicken and Potato Combo

What you need:

• 1/4 kilogram chicken, sliced into chunks
• 1/4 kilogram potatoes, peeled and sliced into large chunks
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 2/3 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• Additional cheese (for topping)
• Avocado (for topping)
• Salsa (for topping)

Place potatoes and bacon at the bottom of a slow cooker then season with garlic powder and black pepper. Add chicken to the pot then sprinkle with paprika. Pour chicken broth over chicken and potatoes and top with cheese. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. When ready, transfer to a serving plate and top with additional cheese, avocado and salsa if desired.

Slow Cooked Beefy Bean Chili

What you need:

• 1/2 kilogram ground beef, cooked and drained
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 3/4 cups black beans
• 1 3/4 cups kidney beans
• 1 3/4 cups petite diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice (for topping)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Place cooked ground beef, garlic, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion and bell pepper in a crockpot. Season with cumin, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Add chicken broth to the pot. Gently stir ingredients together. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Top with shredded cheese before serving.

Crockpot Apple-Cinnamon Pork

What you need:

• 1 1/2 kilogram boneless pork loin roast, browned
• 3 apples, cored and sliced with peel left on
• 3 onions, peeled
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Cut 1/2-inch slits across the top of the pork. Mix together 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a small bowl then rub mixture all over the pork loin, including inside the slits. Place a few apple slices and the apple cider in a crockpot. Place the pork on top of the apples then drizzle with honey. Place an apple slice inside each slit then scatter remaining apple and onion slices on top and around the meat. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon. Cover and cook for 6 hours on low.

Whether you’re cooking for 2 or for just yourself, these amazing slow cooker recipes for one will be just perfect!

Who says all food cooked on the grill is fatty and greasy? Yes, you can follow a healthy diet and eat grilled food. In fact, grilled food is more nutritious compared to those cooked on the pan. So if you’re aiming to eat healthy meals or planning to follow a gluten-free diet, these quick and easy gluten-free grill recipes are definitely a must-try!

Gluten-Free Chicken and Potato Combo

What you need:

• 1 bottle (12 oz) beer or root beer, at room temperature
• 6 pcs. chicken drumsticks
• 2 potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted then cooled
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• Lime wedges, for wedges
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Mix together the beer, garlic, butter, brown sugar, chili powder and salt in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Shake to combine the ingredients well. Add the drumsticks to the bag, shake to coat with mixture and seal. Set aside to marinate.

Microwave the potatoes on high for 5 minutes or until slightly softened. When ready, slice into 1/4-inch thick pieces lengthwise. Drizzle both sides of each potato slice with olive oil.

Place the marinated chicken and the potatoes on a pre-heated grill. Cook drumsticks until cooked through, about 20-25 mins, brushing with beer marinade occasionally. Grill the potatoes for 3 mins per side.

When cooked, transfer chicken and potatoes to a serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and serve with lime wedges.

Gluten Free Pepper Steak with Caramelized Onions

What you need:

• Beef rib-eye or t-bone steak (3/4 to 1 inch thick)
• 3 onions, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

In a small bowl, combine peppercorns, thyme leaves, garlic salt and ground cumin. Brush both sides of the steak with olive oil then rub the pepper mixture all over. Let stand for 15-20 mins.

Brush onion slices with remaining oil. Place steak and onions on a grill pan and cook, covered, on a pre-heated grill over medium-high heat for 12 mins, or until desired doneness on the steak is achieved.

When ready, remove from heat and allow the beef to rest for a few mins. Brush the onion slices with honey. Serve the steak with honey onions.

You can enjoy delicious barbecue dishes even if you’re on a healthy diet. Try these easy yet tasty gluten-free grill recipes!

This cheddar potato recipe makes a soup that is creamy and smooth with true baked potato flavor. You can dress this up with a dollop of sour cream and chives or crumbled bacon, but I like it just as it is.

The flour serves to thicken the soup. I don’t like my soup real thick, so I usually use less. If you like a real thick soup, increase the amounts to 6 tablespoons or a little more. The important thing when adding flour is to cook it in the butter before adding the liquid. This will avoid that raw flour flavor that can result if the flour is not completely cooked.

It is important that the soup not boil once the cream is added. Boiling will cause the cream to separate. If this is a problem for you, wait to add the cream just before serving and only reheat.

Cheddar Baked Potato Soup Recipe

6 Tablespoons butter

1 cup yellow onions, diced

4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 cups hot chicken stock

4 cups baked potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse black pepper

1 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup diced green onions (white part only)

Additional grated cheese and chopped parsley for garnish

1. Cook onions in butter over medium-high heat until transparent, about 3 minutes.

2. Add flour, stirring to prevent lumps. Cook 3 – 5 minutes until just golden brown.

3. Add chicken stock gradually, whisking to prevent lumps, until liquid thickens.

4. Reduce heat to simmer and add potatoes, cream, chopped bacon, parsley, garlic, basil, salt, pepper sauce and black pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Do not boil.

5. Add grated cheese. Heat until cheese melts and soup is smooth.

Garnish each serving as desired with grated cheese and chopped parsley. You can also use a dollop of sour cream and chives or crumbled bacon.

A potato peeler comes in different forms and is used in different ways. If you’ve been cooking potatoes, fruits or vegetables than you probably know all about peelers. A small peeling appliance or tool can make life much easier for the average cook, or anyone preparing meals. Peeling potatoes is an important process for preparing many cuisines, however, it can be a difficult task. There are many kinds of peelers, on the market today, that are designed to make life easier in the kitchen.

There are counter top peelers that use a hand crank to rotate the fixed potato along a sharp edge, while it’s being peeled. Some prefer this gadget, saying it’s easy to operate. Others do not like the cumbersome gadget on their countertop.

There are electric peelers that can peel potatoes or other fruits and vegetables very quickly. With a push of a button it can adjust to thickness, shapes and textures of different foods. Some have see through lids so you can watch the peeling process. Some have batteries that will need to be replaced to keep the peeler charged. Electric peelers can peel large amounts of potatoes in a faster time.

There are hand held potato peelers made with sharp stainless steel blades. Some have a swivel blade, for easy glide and use along the uneven or bumpy potato surface. Most of these peelers are comfortable for the hand. Some have slender handles and others are wider. Most of these peelers are dishwasher safe. These small peelers are convenient to use and store.

Potato peelers can be used for more than peeling fruits or vegetables. They can be part of your soap making equipment! After making homemade soap, the edges of your soap may feel sharp or ragged. Just glide this hand held soap cutter around the edges for smooth, more comfortable, easy to hold, soaps. Using a potato peeler for making homemade soap, helps give your finished product a soft and polished appearance.

After peeling the edges of your homemade soaps, don’t throw the shavings away. You can re-batch these soap shavings to make another bar of soap! A simple potato peeler is wonderful soap making equipment!

If you spend time, energy and money in making homemade soap this small kitchen appliance is a minimal cost. It’s well worth using on your homemade soaps. Whether you own a soap making business or just make soap for fun, try using a potato peeler to enhance the appearance of your soaps.

This recipe puts an Italian spin on a classic potato dish. It can be prepared in a short amount of time; in fact it can be made and stored in the refrigerator and fried just prior to the time they are needed. I personally like to have these in the morning, although, they can be served any time during the day, especially as a snack. Serve this food as a starter or even a side, it will certainly compliment a variety of other foods. Try these potato fritters, I think you will be very glad that you did!

Difficulty (Scale from 1-10): 6

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes

1 cup of shredded asiago cheese

2 shallots – finely chopped

3 tablespoons of fresh dill – finely chopped

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 extra large egg – beaten

1/4 cup of flour

4 tablespoons of olive oil

salt – to taste

black pepper – to taste

Preparation

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft (a knife should pierce easily). Then place potatoes in a bowl and mash.

Mix Asiago cheese into potatoes, add shallots, dill, lemon juice, and egg. Mix well then add salt and pepper to taste, and mix again.

Cover mixture and place in the refrigerator (until firm), and divide into golf-sized balls, then flatten slightly.

Coat each patty with flour. Heat oil in a skillet and fry patties until golden brown on both sides. Remove and drain on a paper towel, serve immediately.

Enjoy your fritters!

In order to create a culinary American staple, the plant in which it comes from has to come from close to home. For this reason, it’s no surprise that the potato that french fries are made from was first created by our neighbors in South America. The Irish potato was first created in the Andean Mountains to be more specific. The Irish potato is the most common potato is America. Otherwise known as the “white” potato, the Irish potato is very different from the sweet potato.

I love potatoes in all forms, however, I am going to tell you all about our Irish friend. The potato is the most widely grown tuber crop in the world, and it only comes in fourth as the largest food crop. The potato can be purchased fresh, frozen or instant, but I prefer fresh. The ways a potato can be prepared seem endless. I have narrowed it down to my three favorites; mashed, baked, and fried. As in french fried, I am a devoted fan of the golden arches.

My favorite form of the potato, and my favorite food of all time, would have to be mashed potatoes. In order to make good mashed potatoes, you must use fresh potatoes, never frozen. Since potatoes are grown in the ground, washing them before cooking is a necessity. You may choose to keep the skin on, or use a peeler to remove the skin before chopping them up and placing them in a pot of boiling water. Timing is key for good mashed potatoes, you can’t leave them in the water for too long, or not long enough.

If you leave them in too long, they will be very sticky and might even stick to the roof of your mouth. However, if you take them out of the water too soon, you will have unappetizing chunks in your potatoes. When left in the correct amount of time, and cooked at the perfect temperature, your mashed potatoes will be creamy and delicious.

Although mashed potatoes are my personal favorite, baked potatoes are the most popular form in America. There is something about the variety of condiments and the way you can transform the taste each time you eat one that Americans love. In the land of choice, it’s no surprise that we like to choose our food as well. Since Americans eat potatoes at one out of three meals minimum a day, I guess even I have to learn to mix it up a little. The baked potato is self explanatory, all it takes is a few holes poked into it with a fork and into the oven it goes.

When you remove it from the oven, you have your choice of butter, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, or really anything you can imagine to add onto it. As an American, you’re going to consume over 126 pounds of potatoes a year, so you might as well make it interesting.

There is no question about it. America loves french fries. We love them plain, seasoned and cheesy. We’ll take them in any shape, we like them straight, curly, crinkly and waffled. Whatever your preference, there is a french fry for you. Deep fried and crispy, we even vary with the condiments we dip them in. I challenge any American to drive through a town in America without being able to find french fries somewhere.

It’s amazing to think that something that tastes so good, comes from something that is so good for us. Potatoes are high in vitamin C and potassium, not to mention an excellent source of fiber. America somehow found a way to make junk food out of a vegetable. It’s no question why America’s favorite vegetable is the potato, no matter how you slice it.