Puppy, Rain, & Baked Potato Soup

Where have I been this past month or so? Well, Mr. B. and I have had a busy end of summer/start of fall. We bought and moved into our first home (yaayyy but so stressful!), I started grad school (yay, but so stressful...), and we became the parents of a handsome German Wirehair Pointer named Sawyer.

Yeah, he's pretty much the cutest, craziest thing ever.

And then, just when we thought we were getting the routine down... Sawyer hurt his leg on one sunny Saturday morning at obedience class. Now, we have a 14-week old puppy who would love nothing more but to run, run, run, and run some more but should be resting & healing (which he only did for the first few days... then went back to running, splint & all). 

So this is our cute puppy, down for a nap, with his new blue cast :(

Mommy (as I now refer to myself in the third person...) gets to come home from being orthopedic nurse at hospital all day to orthopedic nurse at home for a stubborn puppy. Moreover, his splint must stay dry and it's pretty much done nothing but rain for the last two months.

And again, it's raining outside. No suprise. Hurricane season is no fun for anyone... and it's a shame because September is one of my favorite months here in the Northeast; sun-soaked days in the 70s, flip flops and jeans. My September was held hostage by rain, and now it's October. Perfect weather at night to sit around the fire with friends.

So to comfort myself in this mopey weather, I've made a baked potato soup will all the fixin's. This recipe yields A LOT so cut down if you don't want to be eating this for days. Pair your bowl of yummy baked potato soup with a Chablis or Sauvignon Blanc.



What you need:
64 oz organic, low-sodium chicken broth
10.25 oz low sodium cream of celery soup
1 cup low fat sour cream
4-5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium-sized white onion, diced
3 green onions, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp thyme
2 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tbsp dried basil
2 tsp hot pepper sauce
Salt & pepper, to taste
Crumbled bacon
Cheddar cheese

What you do:
Melt butter at bottom of stock pot and add onions and garlic. Saute for several minutes until soft. Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add flour and whisk in chicken broth. Bring soup to a low boil. Add sour cream, thyme, parsley, basil, hot pepper sauce, and salt & pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until potatoes cooked through. Cooking times may vary depending on size of potatoes. Serve into individual bowls and add crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese.