Baked Potato Soup

 I'm a big fan of potatoes.  And honestly, it's got to be one of the most versatile vegetables around.  You can mash them, fry them, bake them, make candy out of them, and even use them as a base for Vodka.  This time round I'm sharing how I make my Baked Potato Soup.  

I love potatoes smashed, made into salads, sliced up on a piece of rye bread. Let me count the ways... 😋   And that's just the white potatoes.   Sweet potatoes are a whole nother ball game.    You can use them in sweet or savory dishes.  I've added them to soups, made sushi, baked cakes, and even made them into fries.   My Sweet Potato Tortillas are also a great alternative to regular flour tortillas.    

Can you tell I'm a bit of a fan of potatoes?    Give me a potato, and I can make a meal within minutes.  In fact, one of my favorite go-to, good anytime meals is Biksemad.   Fried potatoes with an egg on top and a squirt or two of ketchup.   You don't even need meat for this dish.  

This week for Sunday Funday, we're making potato dishes.   I know I've got over a dozen potato recipes on the blog already, but I realized I hadn't shared my Baked Potato Soup recipe. 

I don't make this often, but when I do, it's a big old bowl of comfort.  And worth baking a potato or two just for this soup.  And that's just what I did.  Baked a couple of potatoes for this soup, that is.      I enjoyed it for dinner and had more than enough left over for another meal or two.  Thanks to Culinary Cam for the inspiration.   August 19th is Potato Day, and Cam asked us to share recipes featuring, yup, you guessed it, Potatoes.  

Take a look at some of the dishes my fellow bloggers shared. 

• Appe Batata Vada by Sneha's Recipe
• Baked Herby Potato Wedges by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Baked Potato Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Budget-Friendly Potato Soup with Fresh Dill by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Campfire Potatoes by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Copycat Baked Arby's Curly Fries by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes Without Butter or Cream - Yes! by Culinary Cam
• Jacket Potatoes by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Marmite Roast New Potatoes with Sausage and Butter Beans by Food Lust People Love
• Three-Color Potato Salad with Vegetables by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Warm Potato Salad by A Messy Kitchen

 

 I made some chicken soup

for stock the other day, so I reserved a couple of cups for this soup and froze the rest.     I think this soup could also be made vegetarian by using a good, hearty vegetable stock as well.  I made the chicken stock, so that's what I used. 

Baked Potato Soup

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 20 Min

This hearty, filling soup is perfect for rainy fall days or snowy winter days, but it can also be enjoyed on a hot summer day as well.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken stock or good vegetable stock.
• 2 baked potatoes
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons instant mashed potatoes for thickening, if needed
• 2 teaspoons butter or olive oil for sautéing the onion

Toppings for soup

• 1/2 cup minced bacon, fried crisp
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• 1/2 cup grated colby jack cheese

Instructions

1. Dice onions and sauté in butter until translucent, then add the stock and let it come to a boil. Cook for a couple of minutes, then place in a heat-proof container and add one baked potato, cut up. ( I leave the skin on, personal preference)
2. Use an immersion blender to blend the stock, potato, onion, and garlic together. Add the sour cream and blend.
3. Pour into a pot and heat to a boil; if too thin, add the instant potatoes and blend.
4. Dice the second potato and add to the pot. Heat through.
5. Top with the bacon, chives, and cheese to serve. Simple, hearty, and delicious soup ready in minutes.

There is no added salt, as the bacon and cheese are plenty salty.  But if you need to add salt, feel free to do so.  

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Fresh Corn Relish Salad

It's that time of the year to celebrate gardens.  It's also the time of year to celebrate fresh corn on the cob.   I grew up on a farm, and one thing we had in copious amounts every year was corn.    I would be sent out to pick fresh corn for dinner, but by the time I got back up to the house, I'd usually have eaten at least one cob, if not more.   From picked to a pot of boiling water, sometimes it was a matter of minutes.  

The corn I can purchase now is sometimes a few days old, but by cutting it off the cob and marinating it for a few minutes with other fresh produce, I can somewhat mimic the incredible freshness of the corn I used to pick.  And yes, there was some corn silk added to the salad, accidentally. It's totally edible though.   

This week for our Sunday Funday challenge,  Wendy of A Day in The Life on the Farm has asked us to share our favorite dish with corn. 

I accept the challenge and decided to share how I make a fresh corn salad that is full of summer veggies. No lettuce needed.    Best part: you can add more veggies and sweeten the marinade to your taste.  This easily expands to serve many people, and it just plain tastes good.    I enjoyed it alongside a pork chop and some potato cakes.

I had lots of leftover salad and decided to play with it a bit.  I kinda thought it would be a good base for pasta, and I was right.  I wavered between the Bowtie and my homemade noodles, since I'd made some the other day and wanted to use them up. 

 The Homemade noodles won.  This time around, I sauteed a chicken breast and enjoyed it alongside the Corn and Pasta salad.  I do have to say it didn't hurt the salad to let it sit in the dressing overnight.  I also cooked the homemade noodles in water with added HerbOx salt-free chicken bouillon.  I'm trying to eat salt-free (mostly) these days.  And the pasta sitting with the corn mixture in the dressing for a few hours just added another layer of flavor.  I enjoyed it alongside a sauteed chicken breast. 

Check out the awesome recipes my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers shared.   

Culinary Cam: All the Summer's Darlings Salad

Mayuri's Jikoni: Cachapas, Venezuelan Corn Pancakes

Sneha's Recipe: Corn Patties / Corn Potato Chops

Food Lust People Love: Elotes - Spicy Cheesy Grilled Corn

Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Fresh Corn Relish Salad

Karen's Kitchen Stories: Roasted Corn and Sweet Pepper Chopped Salad with Tomatoes, Black Beans, and Summer Squash

Amy's Cooking Adventures: Smoked Paprika Cornbread Croutons

Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Southwestern Corn Salad with Chives

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Succotash Salad

  

 

Fresh Corn Relish Salad

Yield: 2-4

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Nothing beats fresh corn along with other fresh produce in the summer, and this corn salad sings with freshness. 

Ingredients

• 2 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob or 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 whole sweet red pepper, cut into dice
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 whole English or hot house cucumber, cut into slices and then into quarters

Instructions

Dressing

1. 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2. 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup; add more to taste if desired
3. 1 teaspoon Sweet Soy Sauce
4. juice of one orange
5. 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Whisk the dressing together; taste for sweetness. Add more Maple syrup if needed, to your taste
2. Pour over the chopped vegetables and let marinade for an hour or so.
3. Serve alongside meat

 

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All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2026, with all rights reserved.

Check out my cookbooks on Amazon.  All are available as paperbacks or as e-books.  You can also borrow them if you're a Kindle Unlimited member and just want to check out the recipes. 
 Simple Shrimp Recipes - 25 + Appetizer, Entree, and Dipping Sauces.
 Nibbles and Bites - A Compilation of Appetizers, Canapes and Finger Foods. 
  Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes 

Spicy Cheesy Orzo

 It's Sunday Funday time again, featuring Mac and Cheese recipes.    A few weeks back, I picked up some Orzo at the store, thinking I'd add it to soup, but then this challenge came up, and I wondered how I could do a twist on classic Mac n' Cheese.    I love pasta and cheese,  and have made many versions of Mac n' Cheese over the years. 

 We were introduced to Bahamian Style Mac n' Cheese many years ago, on a trip to the Bahamas, and I've since made it several times.   Personally, I love the blue box Mac n' Cheese and have been known to make it for myself when I wanted to indulge.    Many years ago, I cooked for our local Senior Center, and one memorable meal, I made some Mac n' Cheese, and people literally scraped the pan clean. Then I was asked to bring some to an Easter dinner, so I did.    

I wasn't done experimenting either; last year I was staying in a rental with a half kitchen, got a craving for Mac n' Cheese, and came up with this: Stovetop Mac n' Cheese with Asparagus.    And it was good.  

And now we are here.  I had some Edam Cheese in the fridge; I'd bought it as a BOGO, and ate one but still had another wheel in the fridge.  I also had some Tilsit Cheese, which needed to be eaten, and I decided to combine it with some grated Colby Jack cheese in a Bechamel sauce.    I added some powdered wasabi as well, and it was ok, not great, but ok.   Then I sautéed some shallots and ham, chopped a serrano pepper, and added it to the pot, and it got a lot better.  

 It actually tasted more like a cheesy risotto, and I'll probably not make it this way again.  Or maybe I will.  I do love my pasta, in pretty much any form.   

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures is our hostess this month.  She wanted to see what fun stuff we could do with good ol' Mac n' Cheese.  

Check out what my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers came up with: 

• Cauliflower Spinach Mac and Cheese by Food Lust People Love
• Gruyére and Emmentaler Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Sourdough by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Instant Pot Chicken Mac and Cheese by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Keto Roasted Cauliflower Mac & Cheese by Sneha's Recipe
• Messy Jack Mac'N'Cheese by Culinary Cam
• Pesto Mac by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Cheezy Orzo by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

And here's the recipe card for how I made this dish: 

Spicy Cheesy Orzo

Yield: 4

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Orzo isn't just for soup; make this stovetop Cheesy Orzo for your family.

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup grated cheese, mixture of Edam, Tilsit, and Colby Jack
• 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed in with the grated cheeses
• 1 cup bechamel sauce
• 1 serrano pepper, finely diced
• 1 shallot finely diced
• 1/2 cup diced bacon or ham
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered wasabi
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Bechamel Sauce

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Melt butter in a small saucepan, add flour, and cook over heat for 4-5 minutes to cook the flour. Whisk in milk and cook until thickened, stirring the entire time. Pour over the cooked orzo and stir in the grated cheeses.

Add ins

• 1 serrano pepper, finely minced
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 1/2 cup bacon or ham, minced
• Saute in a pan until the shallot is translucent and the bacon is cooked through. Set aside while preparing the orzo and bechamel sauce.

Instructions

1. Cook orzo according to package directions in the water and chicken stock; do not drain. Set aside while making the bechamel sauce.
2. Add the bechamel sauce, the cheeses, and the sautéed veggies and meat to the cooked orzo. Most of the water will have been absorbed by the orzo. Continue stirring on low heat for another couple of minutes. Serve alongside meat or veggies or make a meal of it.

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All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2026, with all rights reserved.

Check out my cookbooks on Amazon.  All are available as paperbacks or as e-books. 
 Simple Shrimp Recipes - 25 + Appetizer, Entree, and Dipping Sauces.
 Nibbles and Bites - A Compilation of Appetizers, Canapes and Finger Foods. 
  Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes 

Maple Banana Muffins

 I had to participate in today's Sunday Funday.   I am a Canadian who loves the many and varied recipes you can use Maple Syrup in.   I've posted several quintessential Canadian recipes in the past, from Nanaimo Bars to Butter Tarts, but this time around, I decided to use some of the half-gallon of Maple Syrup I had in the pantry, along with some of the bananas that had taken up residence in my freezer.    I had to use them, cause they weren't even paying rent, just hanging around, teasing me.  

I present to you some Maple Banana Muffins.   Not only do they have Maple Syrup in them, but they're also topped with Candied Maple Walnuts.   The only problem with the Walnuts is that they taste so good that it's hard not to just eat them out of hand.    I know whereof I speak.  

I like using an ice cream scoop to put the muffin batter into paper cupcake liners.   They're easier to get out of the muffin tin.   My original recipe had me adding some berry compote to the muffins before baking them. I decided against that this time and just added some berry jam to the muffins after baking, along with some butter. 

I can also say that cold without any butter or jam on top, these are still pretty darn tasty.  

The unbaked muffins looked pretty good to me as well.  I drizzled a little of the leftover syrup from candying the walnuts over the top of the unbaked muffins.  

 

    BTW, this was also a Sunday Funday group effort.   The theme was Celebrate Canada Day.  And since I'm Canadian, this hit home for me too.   Our Sunday Funday hostess this month is Mayuri Patel of Mayuris Jikoni  .  Check out the fun offerings my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers shared. 

There are some fun recipes here:

Sunday Funday

Celebrate Canada Day

• Butter Tarts by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cherry Chip Cake by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• City of Nanaimo's Namesake Bar by A Messy Kitchen
• Maple Banana Muffins by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Maritime Hodge Podge - Creamy Summer Vegetables by Food Lust People Love
• Pouding Chômeur by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Quick and Easy Poutine by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Maple Banana Walnut Muffins

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Topped with a maple syrup-candied walnut, these muffins are a powerhouse of good. Low sugar, hearty, and delicious gluten-free breakfast muffin.

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas- mushed up
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tablespoon or 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 teaspoons Drambuie or 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract. I used some Drambuie as I was getting low on Vanilla Extract. I also like using Liqueurs as flavorings when they can complement the baked goods.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Or just grease the muffin tins really well.
2. Cream the butter and maple syrup together, then mix in the mashed bananas and eggs, adding in the vanilla or liqueur of your choice.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, chopped walnuts, baking powder and gluten-free flour.
4. Pour the banana mixture over the dry ingredients and combine.
5. Place a good 1/4 cup of the mixture into the prepared muffin tins, top with Maple Candied Walnuts if desired, and bake for 30-35 minutes. Eat them with some butter and a dollop of your favorite berry preserves.

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All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2026, with all rights reserved thereof.

Check out my cookbooks on Amazon.  All are available as paperbacks or as e-books. 
 Simple Shrimp Recipes - 25 + Appetizer, Entree, and Dipping Sauces.
 Nibbles and Bites - A Compilation of Appetizers, Canapes and Finger Foods. 
  Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes 

Carrot Pudding

 Is there a more versatile vegetable than Carrots?    

From sweet to savory recipes, they work and work hard.  At least I made them do the work.   

I've used carrots in Spaghetti Sauce and also make an amazing Carrot Cake.   I made some Carrot Mousse a while back, as well as one of my favorite salads, which also doubles as a great vegetarian main dish.  White Bean, Carrot, and Celery Salad.  I've used them in Curried Carrot Hummus, and I even made a Candied Carrot Coffeecake once.   They're great in soups, stews, and as pickles in some Carrot Escabeche .  I could go on and on and on, but you get my drift.  I hope.  Carrots are good food.   Treat them well, and they'll work for you.   And work hard.  

And this time round for our Sunday Funday, I'm using them in a Carrot Pudding.  Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is our hostess this week, and she enjoined us to use Carrots in a dish, with carrots being featured.    So after some thought, I decided to make a Carrot Pudding, and came up with this recipe.   An old-fashioned, steamed pudding, usually made around Christmas, but I decided, why wait for Christmas? I'm going to enjoy it now.   And it is good.  The Whiskey Lemon sauce is very sharp but goes really well with the highly spiced Carrot Pudding.   Did I mention it's also gluten-free?   Cause it is.  I elected to use some gluten-free flour I had on hand, and it worked, and worked really well.  I ate two wedges for my dinner that night and have the rest of the pudding in the freezer for pudding emergencies.    I'm out of Jameson whiskey, but I bet I can use some regular whiskey or even bourbon to make up some more sauce.   

Sometimes, it's fun to play with food.  😏

 I have some stainless steel mixing bowls I bought a while back, and decided one of them would be perfect for this.

  I cooked my pudding in my small crockpot, and the bowl rested on the lip of the crockpot with an inch or so of water underneath.  Perfection...

And as you can see, it came out of the bowl, really nicely.  

Take a look at what my fellow Sunday Funday Bloggers came up with:  

• Carrot Cake Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Carrot Pudding from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Carrot Fries from Mildly Indian
• Carrot Roulade from Sneha's Recipe
• Grilled Carrots from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nomato Soup - a Faux Tomato Soup with Carrots from A Messy Kitchen
• Roasted Carrots with Burrata from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Carrot Ginger Dressing from Food Lust People Love

Carrot Pudding

Yield: 4-6

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 4 H & 30 MTotal time: 5 Hour

This would be a perfect pudding to make for a celebratory meal. 15 minutes or so of prep and 4+ hours of unsupervised cooking time.

Ingredients

Carrot Pudding

• 1 cup carrots - grated
• 1 unpeeled apple, grated
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 1/2 cup pecans - chopped
• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar - either white or brown
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Instructions

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and spices, mix thoroughly.
3. Then add the flour, nuts, and craisins, and mix together well.
4. Press into a greased heat-proof bowl and place into a crockpot that has an inch or so of water in the base. Let it cook on high for 3 hours and an additional hour or so on low until it is cooked through. (You can also put the mixture into mason jars, well-washed cans that can have a lid put on. I was able to nestle a small bowl inside my crockpot and just used the crockpot lid. Cook to an internal temp of 210 degrees. Or just wing it.

Lemon Whiskey Sauce

1. 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 1/4 cup whiskey (I used Jameson, your choice as to which one you like)
4. 1/8 tsp. Lemon extract
5. 1/2 tsp. Lemon zest
6. 2 tablespoons butter
7. 1 lightly beaten egg yolk
8. Whisk the first five ingredients together, until the sugar has dissolved, over medium-high heat, taste for sweetness, and add more sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until it's to your taste. Whisk in the butter, temper the egg yolk with some of the hot lemon juice, then whisk in the tempered egg yolk, and cook until thickened, stirring continuously. If you don't temper the egg yolk, you will end up with scrambled egg yolk.  (This is pretty much like a lemon curd but with whiskey, 😉 Pour over the carrot pudding while still warm or serve on the side.  The Lemon sauce is very sharp, but it goes really well with the pudding.  

 

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