Creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Who loves potato soup? This girl! I've always loved ordering it for lunch and never thought about how easy it would be to make at home. It's now one of our favorite winter soups because I can make it in about an hour and it is sooo deliciously creamy!

You will need:

• 5 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (or at least 4 cups of left over mashed potatoes - seasoned or not)
• 1/2 lb of thick cut bacon
• About 3 cups + 1/2 cup (reserve) of chicken stock (make your own)
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 large carrots (peeled and chopped to whatever size you like in your soup)
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion (peeled and chopped to whatever size you like in your soup)
• About 1 cup of heavy cream

You will do:
1. Boil the potatoes until they are done. Allow them to drain and mash briefly. Skip this step if you're using left over mashed potatoes.  

2. While the potatoes are boiling, begin cooking your bacon. Low and slow is the key for perfect bacon. Start with a cold pan, lay several pieces down and turn on to med-low heat. Cooking it slowly will allow the grease to release but not burn away any of the meat. Set aside on a paper towel - do not dump that grease from the pan!! Chop the bacon into medium sized bacon bits.
3. Using that delicious grease, cook the carrots and onions on med-low until the onions are translucent. 

4. Transfer the grease and cooked veggies to the pot you plan on cooking your soup in and add half of your bacon bits.

5. Dump in your mashed potatoes and add a little bit of flour at a time, continually stirring to thicken it up.

6. Pour in 3 cups of of chicken broth, bring to a boil and turn down to medium. Reserve extra broth just in case you need additional liquid.The soup will look very runny at first, but allow it to keep heating and the potatoes to soak up the broth and pretty soon you'll have a slightly thicker concoction but it still should be loose. If it gets too thick, add more broth and turn down the heat a little. If you feel it is still way too runny, add a little bit more flour at a time, making sure you stir constantly so that you don't get any clumps. Allow to cook for abut 10-15 minutes, until it gets to that perfect balance between the broth being fully incorporated and the soup not being too runny.

7. Add 1/2 a cup of cream at a time, stirring constantly, until you get the consistency of the soup you desire.
8. Top with the remainder of your bacon bits, some sour cream, chives, shredded cheese or whatever else you like on your baked potatoes!

I promise - you'll totally overlook the bacon grease and cream additions to this recipe. And getting good quality bacon (from a local butcher, if you can) really makes the difference. Drool.