Potato Soup w/ Garlic Cheese Swirl Bread

Here in Pennsylvania, our weather has been crazy!  It's warm...then it snows...then it's warm...then it snows...  This past week we had a few cold and snowy days - perfect soup weather!  Hubster is not a fan of soups...or stews...or casseroles.  In the past decade I've tried lots of different soups, but the hearty loaded potato soup is the only one he likes...it could be that I also make a batch of bread swirled with garlicy-cheesy deliciousness to go with it....

Loaded Potato Soup

4 cups cubed potatoes (I leave the skins on because I'm lazy like that)...its usually about 6 medium potatoes or so
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1/4 medium onion, finely minced
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon salt (if I'm out of celery, I substitute 1 teaspoon celery salt for both the celery & salt)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded plus a little for a garnish
1/2 pound bacon, cooked
chives or scallions (for garnish)

1 - Add the chicken stock/broth, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, potatoes, celery & onion to a medium saucepan over medium heat
2 - Bring to a boil then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 min
3 - Whisk the flour and milk together and add mixture to the pot - simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until thickened
4 - Add cheese and stir until melted
5 - To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese and chives/scallions


Garlic Cheese Swirl Bread

dough
1/2 of The Pioneer Woman's pizza dough
If you're pressed for time and don't want to bother making dough - frozen bread dough works great!

filling
1 cup shredded cheese (more if you like it really cheesy) - I use a colby jack blend
2-3 roasted garlic cloves, mashed (2 teaspoons garlic powder or even sauteed garlic also works just fine in a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 - Roll out the dough to 3/4 inch thickness
2 - Spread the dough evenly with mashed garlic cloves/garlic powder, pepper, salt & cheese
3 - Roll up the bread jelly roll style and pinch the edges to seal.  Rearrange dough seam side down to bake.

4 - If your using the PW pizza dough, bake at 375 degrees for 30 min or until golden brown.  If you're using frozen bread dough, bake per the package instructions.



This was last week...this week has 50's on the forcast.

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