Potato Soup and Homemade Bread--NYUM!

Earlier this week we had freezing rain, rain, snow, and sleet all in one afternoon.  It was a good day for soup and so I put this recipe together.  I like using fat free half n' half for the richness it gives without added fat.  We use skim milk from Brahms Dairy--they condense their skim milk a bit so it isn't as thin and not a bit blue-tinged as regular skim milk can be. 

Snowy Day Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 medium/large onion, diced

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 to 3 cloves minced garlic

6 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

2 cups skim milk

2 and l/2 cups fat free half and half

1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper

Place oil, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic into a stock pot, cook over medium heat until onion is softened and carrots and celery are tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add potatoes and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper, and simmer about 7 minutes, until potatoes are nearly done.  Add milk, fat free half and half, bacon, and heat through. Taste and adjust salt to taste.   

I made a loaf of bread from my standard bread recipe.  My grandkids call it "Grammy Bread" because I make it so often.  It is egg and dairy free out of respect for their allergies.  I also use this dough to make dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls.

Grammy Rolls (or bread)

In a 2 cup glass measure stir together: 

1 cup very warm tap water

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon regular bread yeast

Into bread machine liner, place: 

3 cups unbleached flour

1.5 teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

When the water mixture is foamy on top, dump it all at once into the bread machine liner right on top of the flour mixture, process on dough setting.  Form dough into a loaf, let it raise about an hour until doubled in size, bake on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet at 350 until golden brown (check at 15-18  minutes, watch closely thereafter).  My oven needs a liner or an insulated cookie sheet on the rack below to protect the loaf from getting too brown.