Easy Potato Soup

My house was freezing yesterday which made me think of soup which made me think of potato soup.  Convoluted thinking, yes, but I am addicted to potatoes so it’s an easy way to feed that addiction.  Besides, Mr. Meat Eater was out of town and he hates potato soup so it was the perfect choice.

This is a very easy recipe.  I know I’ve made a similar recipe before that seemed to take half a day but this one sure didn’t.  Just make sure you remember to bake your potatoes earlier in the day.  I also didn’t want to open a package of bacon for 3 slices so I used real bacon bits bought at the store.  It’s a recipe that would be easy to make vegetarian by leaving off the bacon and switching the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

Easy Potato Soup

3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsps flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half and half
1/2 tsp Tabasco
shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp; drain, reserving 1 tbsp drippings. I used real bacon bits instead of cooking bacon so I used 1 tbsp butter, melted, instead of saving the bacon drippings. Set bacon aside.

In the drippings or butter, saute onion and garlic until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, basil, and pepper and mix well. Very gradually add the broth while whisking to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the potatoes, cream and Tabasco and heat through but do not boil.

Garnish with bacon or bacon bits and cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

Happy Cooking!

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