Cheesy Potato Soup and Turkey Meatloaf

This blog is going to document the trial and errors of my journey through cooking. With the help of Cooking Nub #2 =]. I'm looking for cheap and easy meals to make, while still retaining the yumminess. The twice failed miso cod dish may have set us back a bit, but recent attempts at these other recipes turned out delicious. Hopefully I'll end up taking decent pictures and will post them here.

Cheesy Potato Soup (adapted from Craving Chronicles)

10 min prep, 30 min cook. 10$, but makes tons of leftovers. Around 6-8 bowls total.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1lb. (approximately) potatoes (10-12 small or 4-6 large), cubed
1 quart of chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

2-3 carrots (optional)

green onion or chives (optional)

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and saute onions and carrots until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and enough chicken stock to cover everything. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add 3 tablespoons of flour to form a roux, whisking to combine. Allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the milk slowly, whisking constantly to smooth out any lumps. Continue to heat while whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Once it reaches the desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in grated cheddar cheese.

Once potatoes are tender, pour the cheese mixture into the potato mixture, stirring to combine. Heat to a simmer and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped green onions or chives if desired.

-We took out the prosciutto. Carrots are optional, but they do add a bit of sweetness to the soup. Also, we didn't peel the potatoes because we don't own a peeler, and I felt bad for making Dan try and use a dull butcher's knife instead. It adds more texture =]. The original recipe is in the link.

Turkey Meatloaf (My mom's recipe)

5 min prep, 55 min cook. 7$, makes around 4 servings. (We use the leftovers for turkey meatloaf sandwiches. Yummy!)

Ingredients

For meatloaf:

1 package (around 1.25 lbs) of lean (not extra lean) ground turkey

1 egg

1/4 C nonfat milk

1/3 C Italian bread crumbs (if I don’t have Italian bread crumbs I add herbs: thyme, basil, parsley, etc.)

1/2 medium onion chopped fine

2 cloves garlic smashed

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

For sauce:

½ C ketchup

dash Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 T brown sugar

Directions

Mix well, pack into loaf pan and put in 350 degree oven for 50 – 55 minutes. I use the glass pan so I can tell whether or not it has finished cooking. I cook it longer if the package has more meat. Spread the sauce on the top the last 10 mins of cooking.

- The recipe that turned Dan into a meatloaf convert! The nonfat milk makes a huge difference. If you use whole milk, the meatloaf will take on the qualities of a brick.

I'll add more of the successful ones later. I'm going to try and cook at least one new recipe each weekend when i go to Dan's place. This weekend I'm planning on making agedashi tofu or stuffed mushrooms.