In honor of teachers, and those students who are the apple of our eye, I want to share this recipe with you. It’s perfect for those evenings when you’re getting back from work, totally exhausted, but still need something comforting to get on the table. This soup & salad is rich and light and creamy……all at the same time! You can get this bowl of comfort on the table in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients:
16 oz. sliced bacon, about one package
1 small onion, chopped
3 small red apples, peeled and chopped (Gala or Fuji work just fine)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups of hot water with 3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 and a 1/2 cups organic apple juice (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 and a 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I use sharp Irish cheddar cheese)
sliced french bread
2 tsp dijon mustard
salad fixin’s: lettuce, tomatoes (I like multi-colored tomatoes just because they’re colorful and pretty but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to; use what you’ve got), red onions, cucumbers, etc.
Directions:
- Cook bacon in a large pot (i.e. dutch oven) until crispy and place on a paper towel to soak up the grease. Once the bacon has cooled, you can go ahead and chop it up.
- In the same large pot (with the bacon grease) over medium heat, add the onions, apples, and potatoes. Cook and stir frequently until they begin to soften (about 6-8 minutes). Then add in the chicken broth, apple juice, salt, & pepper, and bring to a simmer for about 12 minutes. Add the cheddar cheese and stir until it melts.
- For this step you have two options depending on what type of kitchen equipment you have (I have done this both ways and it works fine either way): If you’ve got a hand blender (like this one) you can simply stick that right into your pot and puree the mixture into a soup, OR you can work in batches putting the mixture into your blender to puree.
- Once the soup has been pureed, return it back to your pot on low. Now it’s time to make your bread and salad.
- For the bread: In a preheated broiler, add sliced french bread topped with dijon mustard and cheddar cheese for about 30 seconds (or until the cheese melts). Then remove and cut into 1-inch pieces.
- For the salad: Mix together a salad with the fixin’s of your choice.
- Once you’re at the table, top both the soup and salad with your chopped bread and bacon.
- Dig in :-)
I hope you enjoy this soup & salad and that it’s perfect for your busy week nights, but also warms your bellies during the school day as left overs :-)
