What Goes with a Rainy Day?

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup and Baked Potatoes with the Works!

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight. With a new church schedule of 2-5pm, making dinner from scratch when we get home just isn't reasonable anymore. I am all for make-ahead dinners! This recipe is from one of my go to recipe sites and inspired by a recent get together with my side of the family. It was delicious and a perfect pairing for a rainy day here in Visalia.

Here is the link for the soup: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broccoli-cheese-soup/Detail.aspx
Yes I know it calls for frozen broccoli and Velveeta...but it is super yummy!

This is my prep that I did before church:
1. I made the base of the soup - softened the onions in the butter, added the broccoli and chicken stock and brought it to a simmer. Then I just left the pot on the stove until we got back from church. I also cubed the cheese and left it in the fridge.
2. Since my oven has a delay timer on it, I prepped the baker potatoes (washed, pricked with a fork and rubbed canola oil on them and wrapped them in foil) and set the oven to cook them at 350 degrees for one hour. These cooked while we were at church and were hot and ready when we got home.
3. I prepped all the toppings for the baked potatoes: grated the cheese, sliced the green onions. This is what we like to top them with.

When we got home from church:
1. I finished off the soup with the cheese, garlic powder, milk, cornstarch and water and let it thicken (about 10 minutes). I also added salt and pepper to taste and it really made a difference. I also didn't want chunks of broccoli and onions in my soup so I took my stick blender to it. WOW! it was really yummy this way all blended together and I think it made it creamier.
2. I took out the potatoes and they stayed nice and hot in the foil until we were ready to eat.
3. Put a can of chili in a pot to heat it up to use as a topping for the potatoes.

These are the toppings we had out for the potatoes: chili, cheese, sour cream, green onions, butter, salt and pepper. The soup can also be used as a topping for the potatoes...and it is really delicious on potatoes.