The Ultimate Beef Broth

We have a new favorite restaurant in our little village and we go there often on our 'date nights' which makes me very, very happy.

 

On Valentine's Day, the menu included short ribs, and we brought the bone home for my old girl, Lily.

Potato Soup....and Playtime for the Puppies!

I showed you the start of my broth the other night during the storm....well, after about 30 hours on low in the crockpot I came home to this last night:

Just look at all that depth of flavor in there! A chef taught me that tip ages ago....low and slow for broth, let it simmer ever so slightly for at least 24 hours for all the flavors to develop. He's so right, it makes such a difference!

See how rich that is? It's so much deeper and more flavorful than any broth you can buy in the store. 

It was time to make my potato soup!

Such a simple recipe, but so incredibly yummy. 

I gathered my ingredients - 8 potatoes, 2 large onions, one head of garlic. 

Rough chop on the onions and into the pot with a bit of olive oil. I let them saute for a bit until they were good and soft while I got the garlic peeled and minced. 

I made a hole in the center of the onions, dropped in a pat of butter, and browned the garlic in the center. Just until golden, to release the flavors. 

In went the broth and the peeled and quartered potatoes. 

The lid went on, and it needed about a half hour to simmer, until the potatoes were really tender. 

Meanwhile, while I was slaving away in the kitchen (ha ha) it was playtime in the living room:

Every time my sweetie goes off the mountain he comes back with "be-prizes" for the babies. He spoils them rotten!!

This time he brought back a little fuzzy squeaky football and a fuzzy squeaky dumbell.

Because of the Superbowl, of course! 

The Monkey got the football and Tubs got the dumbell. 

Before you knew it, the Monkey had stolen the dumbell....and Tubs had the football. 

They were playing so happily with their new toys, running around, squeaking them....ripping off bits of fuzz and leaving it all over my house. The usual!

Meanwhile, the potatoes were tender and I gave the soup a whiz around with my immersion blender. 

I added about a half cup of half & half, as the soup was a bit thick. 

I also added about a cup of grated cheddar. 

Just because....hello? Cheese!

Ready to serve - let's call the troops in for dinner!

And then I found this. The Monkey had managed to steal the football back from Tubs and now she had both toys. And she would grumble any time poor Tubs went anywhere near her. Bold little cheeky brat, she is!

Dinner is served!  Hot sandwiches with a bowl of creamy potato soup. I topped the soup with about a tbs of chopped lower sodium bacon (I pre-cook the bacon and keep it in the freezer) and some chopped scallions. 

The soup was absolutely delicious! Guess what's for lunch today? 

After her belly was full the little bold Monkey took a nap in front of the fire with both toys beside her. 

Poor Tubs doesn't stand a chance!

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