Loaded Potato Chowder

If I were to be honest with you, I would confess that there are many nights I struggle with inspiration to get dinner on the table.  This is mostly due to exhaustion from playing with my son or managing our household all day while my daughters are at school. Some days it is just easier to order a pizza and call it dinner. The truth is that exhaustion occasionally wins and my family misses out on the opportunity to eat a home-cooked meal.

But today as I walked around Green Lake and enjoyed a beautiful fall day, I was inspired by the crisp cool air and began thinking about comfort food. My thoughts were flooded with images of serving baked potatoes topped with sour cream, cheese, chives, and bacon. The anxiety of not knowing what to do for dinner washed away as I developed a vision. I headed straight to the grocery store from the lake to buy everything I needed to make baked potato soup. The problem is that I didn't get home until 5:30 p.m., so unless I was going to make everyone wait until 7:00 p.m. it was clear there would be no baked potatoes, a key ingredient to this soup. Instead, I started to think outside the box and decided on a slight variation of the soup and eventually decided on making this Loaded Potato Chowder.

Incorporating common elements of a traditional baked potato, this chowder is comforting, satisfying, and delicious. I knew this chowder was a winner when both of my daughters had seconds. I felt victorious with yet another home-cooked meal. This chowder is a keeper and just what I needed. Not sure what we'll do tomorrow, but I'm taking it one day at a time.