German Bacon & Potato Soup
When I think of German things, why do I think of Green.
Whatever.
So again, I received a Nintendo DS game called Personal Trainer: Cooking. Last week I made Chicken Tikka Masala. Which turned out amazing, it was so tasty and good.
So I had The Girl pick the next recipe with the stipulation that she not choose anything Chinese, because that is all she would eat if she had the choice.
Surprisingly she picked something from Germany, the Bacon & Potato Soup.
So I looked over the recipe, and I saw that I had to make the stock. I've never made stock, at least that I can remember. I got all of the ingredients required, the thyme, nutmeg, bay leaves, bacon, potatoes, carrots, beef, chicken legs, chicken thighs, celery and onion. I've never been a huge fan of onions, but I have to tell you, recently they really taste good, and give other foods such a nice flavor.
Okay. So starting around 8:30am Monday the 19th. I started to prepare the dinner. I thought perhaps I would complete the entire meal on Tuesday night, but did changed my mind.
I partially thawed the meats. I'd never heard of a stock being made with both chicken and beef....is that a German thing?
So I made the stock. There was A LOT of stock. I only needed 1 3/4 quarts. How many cups are in a quart....The Girl had today off school, so she found out that there are 4 cups in a quart. My Pyrex measuring cup is only 2 cups...so...roughly 7 cups of stock would be used for the soup. The meat not used at all. I'll be making a made up soup tomorrow night to use the meat from the stock.
My new visiting teachers came over just as I was at the point in the recipe where the stock cooks for 2 hours.
So they came, we visited. I fed them candy and cookies. They talked with The Girl, found her charming and 13.
One of my visiting teachers also works at The World of Mouse, as an actor in the Musical production of Nemo, performed at Animal Kingdom, she is Dory. So celebrities have graced my humble abode.
So, they left after a very nice message and a delightful hour of chatting and laughing. These girls are in their late 20's and are the sweetest. When we first met together they assumed I had just turned 30...so of course I love them dearly! They have already visited me more consistently than I have ever had visiting teachers visit me. I can tell you...I am well pleased!
So it was time to strain the stock. I think I used nearly every storage container, just kidding. I used around 2 but one was a very large bowl that could hold the 7 cups that were needed to be reserved for tonight's meal.
I removed the skin and bones from the chicken, and reserved the beef and chicken in a container to be used on Tuesday night. I threw the remains of the vegetables away.
Then cleaned up the kitchen only minimally.
The Girl and I then headed over to the Whale world and enjoyed a quick show, called A'lure. Its a new production that the Whale World's creative team have come up with. The story was honestly difficult to follow, but the acrobatic performers were amazing. We were able to see my Prince Charming in the midst of his job, the venue that he is the head of is down for 3 weeks for refurbishment, and he was replacing some worn out technical things, adorable and handsome even with blackend, machine greasy hands.
Then The Girl and I departed Whale World and went to pick up a few items from Whole Foods. I needed another onion and bread for the soup. We ended up getting prepared salads, some NICE cheese, we're not talking Cheddar or Colby here....Stilton and Manchengo....k. NICE cheese. Since we were having a German soup, I decided to pick a German bread....Pumpernickel..YUM.
Then we saw the dessert case. We passed it eventually...after getting some REALLY nice desserts to have after our German soup....okay so cheese cake, mousse and tarts are not specifically German, but they are in the neighborhood...oh look at a Globe!
Finally we returned home. My Prince Charming was in the shower...I said hello.
I then began the final preparations for the German Bacon & Potato soup.
With the assistance of The Girl, I didn't even have to ask, she insisted that she help me! So nice.
So we chopped the onion, bacon, potatoes and carrots. I sauteed the onion in butter, added bacon, then the carrots, then the potatoes. Then the stock, I only ended up using around 5 cups. The pan was already too full with the other stuff! So, more stock for the soup on Tuesday. The soup took around an hour to finally complete. I tasted the broth, to add seasoning if needed. It had such a wonderful silky taste. I added pepper, salt and some nutmeg. The nutmeg added a nice almost woodsy flavor, it was nice.
Then I ladled the soup in to the waiting bowls and The Girl chopped up some fresh parsley and sprinkled this on the soup. I served the pumpernickel bread with the soup.
We are waiting for our bellies to not feel so full, might be tomorrow that we are able to eat our desserts.
This soup was so good. I have not been much of a soup maker. I eat soup....from a can...quite often. But wow this was so nice, filling. I'll be making this again.
So that is 2 for 2 that we have all really liked the recipe that the Nintendo DS offered. I will be having my Prince Charming pick the next recipe.
I get to drive 2 hours tomorrow down to Tampa, to see my Lap Band doctor. The pants I am wearing today are nearly falling off...they look kind of ridiculous, but I can't justify purchasing new pants that I will probably not wear for more than 4 more months. I am excited to see how much more I've lost. I can finally see the difference in my face. Lots of other people have said my face has gotten lots slimmer, but now I can see it. I see other areas that are much smaller than before...I verified with My Prince Charming that he is fine with less than an ample hand full....he is.
I like this losing weight, and creating wonderful food. What a great combination.
Well until next time.
Everyone have a wonderful day.
