This simple and easy recipe will have a cozy, cheesy soup on your table in no time. Its one-pot {a must over here}, and easy cleanup. The garnishes are KEY, so don't skimp!
Start with gathering up the ingredients. It calls for real bacon, however I use a shortcut of real crumbled bacon bits from Sam's Club. No mess, no fuss... and still gives you crumbly crunchy bacon bits once they're fried up a bit. I highly recommend this shortcut if you want to cut out the grease and time to fry bacon.
This soup is so easy to add in whatever vegetables you have on hand. Or if you're like me, I'm always looking to add hidden vegetables in my recipes. The kids {and husband} don't even know they're there. For example I had a yellow pepper on hand, so I threw it in.
Once the bacon is cooked, remove from the pan and fry up those onions and vegetables. I steamed the broccoli in the microwave, chopped it up, and added to the mix. Next sprinkle the flour and butter. Once its melted and fried for a minute or so, add your broth.
Now its time to add the potatoes. I cut the potatoes up really small so it took less time to get them SUPER soft. Once they're soft, mash them up. You could also puree them, but I chose the chunkier option.
Now add all the fun fixins....the sour cream, milk, cheese, cilantro, and salsa. You could do salsa verde, regular salsa, or I had some leftover homemade salsa that needed to get used up. At this point I take it off the heat so I don't burn the cheese.
Stir it up. Watch it melt.
Get the toppings ready! Here comes the fun part.
The bacon. Lots of bacon.
Extra cheese.
Cilantro.
Green onions.
Sour Cream.
Pile them high. It makes the dish!
Ingredients
6 slices of bacon or 3/4 cup real bacon bits
1 onion
1 pepper, whatever color you have on hand
3 cups chopped broccoli
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
6 potatoes, chopped
2 cups milk
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 sour cream
1 1/2 cup cheese, cheddar or even pepperjack
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Green onions
The Steps
In a large cast iron skillet, fry bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and most of the grease, leaving 2 tablespoons. Add onion and pepper to grease. Cook for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add chopped (& cooked) broccoli. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add butter and flour, cook until melted and coated, a couple minutes. Pour in broth and potatoes. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes or until potatoes are very soft. Mash the potatos and leave as chunky as desired.
Stir in milk, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and more milk if desired to thin.
Garnish with additional sour cream, cheese, green onions, and lots of bacon.
That's a wrap!
Hope you enjoy this recipe. It will be on repeat here this winter.
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