Loaded Baked Potato Soup

There is a reason my family calls me CaitoPotato: I love potatoes.  So when Nate and I were craving a little comfort food the other day, my head jumped straight to a creamy, soupy potato concoction.  I had never made potato soup, so I set out to find a yummy recipe.

I wasn't thrilled with any of the recipes I found on Pinterest.  They all looked tasty, but I was either missing key ingredients, or I disagreed with the methodology.  I might have some strong preferences as to how things should be cooked...  I broadened my search and found this recipe on CDKitchen.com.  Of course, I made it my own.  Here is the recipe as I adapted it!

Ingredients:
6 large baking potatoes, peeled & cut in 1/2-inch cubes (I used the 6 largest Yukon Gold I had, plus 2 smaller)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 slices uncooked bacon, chopped
1 quart chicken broth
1 tsp minced (jarred) garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (optional)
8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled
cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:
Combine first seven ingredients in a large crockpot; cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours (potato should be tender).

Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in sour cream, cheese and chives.  <-- I used my immersion blender for this part!  So much fun!

Top with bacon, chives and more cheese.

This was super easy, and very delicious.  I didn't have any chives and the soup was still great.  I hope to add them next time!

Meatloaf

This might be my mom's meatloaf, but it's not your mother's meatloaf!  This delicious, comfort food dish is really closer to a really huge, baked cheeseburger.  But WOW is it fantastic!  My mom's meatloaf (with a side of peas) was my birthday dinner go-to for much of my childhood.  That's right: I special requested meatloaf for my birthday dinner. 

I love that I can make this meatloaf any size, by just adjusting the measurements by eye.  Nothing is too precise, but it always comes out delicious.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I hear turkey works well too... not my style)
1/4 pound ground veal
1/4 pound ground pork (the ground pork/veal can be a "meatloaf mix" or left out entirely; just double your beef)
1 small can (4 oz) tomato sauce (or 1/2 jar of chili sauce!)
3/4 C Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 (8 oz) container ricotta cheese

Directions:
In large bowl, using hands (take off your rings!), mush together the meat, tomato sauce, bread crumbs, egg and 1 C of the cheddar cheese until thoroughly blended.
Pat 1/2 of the meat mixture about 1" thick into the bottom of a baking pan; I like to build a little retaining wall for the cheese filling in the next step:

Spread the ricotta cheese across the layer of meat, almost to the edges.
Cover with the remaining 1 C cheddar cheese.
Pat the remaining meat over the top of the cheeses, sealing the cheeses within.
Bake 1 hour at 350* degrees. 
Drain grease from pan. 
Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving, so the cheeses can cool.

Last night's meatloaf, pictured here, turned out even tastier than usual.  Maybe it was the cold, rainy weather, but YUM!