Potato Soup

At the end of summer, when I have cleared the garden of all vegetables, Rugby loves to go back over it and search for more. It's a treasure hunt to him. And usually he finds things I missed...mostly carrots and potatoes. I must get lazy when I'm digging. A couple years ago, he brought in his bounty and asked if he could make potato soup for supper. I helped him put together a very basic recipe and then tweak it with all the veggies he had. That soup had carrots, corn, and green beans in addition to the potatoes. I'll share the basic recipe with you and you can add any other veggies that you like. Enjoy!

Potato Soup

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk (we use 1%)
4 large baking potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed (I have already peeled, cubed and boiled before adding to the soup and that works fine, too!)
4 green onions, sliced (I use them if I have them)
12 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled (The kids like more, but really...who doesn't like more bacon?!)
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp celery seed (we like it, but ok to skip if you don't)

Melt butter in your stock pot. Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. GRADUALLY add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened. (It won't thicken very well if you add the milk too fast.) Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers

Have your attention yet? BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers are on Tim's top 10 list of fave foods. I needed a QUICK dinner last night since I wasn't feeling exactly wonderful and didn't make it to the grocery store as I always do on Monday's. I had ground beef and everything else for burgers...except buns which the gas stations in town both sell, so it was burger night! These are bacon wrapped cheeseburgers, I had to modify the recipe but they turned out awesome. Tim got one cold one when he got home and I had another one frying for him so he got a hot one, too. Rugby ate THREE of them. The kids I topped with shredded cheddar and ours I topped with pepper jack which was SO GOOD!! Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Burgers

In a large bowl, mix:
1 egg
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original)
2 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 pounds ground beef

Form into patties. Wrap with bacon (secure bacon with toothpicks). Grill over medium-medium high heat for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Top with cheese of your choice and allow to melt. This made 8 burgers for me and took almost 1/2 pound of thick sliced bacon.

I fried them in a skillet on the stove since I couldn't find the fire stick to start the grill. I had to pour the grease off part of the way through cooking, but other than that, it went smoothly.