Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

This soup is pretty much sin in a bowl. The ultra rich, ultra creamy luscious flavor of this baked potato soup leaves you feeling oh-so-guilty, yet oh-so-satisfied. I modified the recipe from it's original format to take it from "ridiculously over-the-top fattening" to just "pretty dang fattening". Either way this soup ain't diet food ;)

Adapted from Evelyn/Athens @ Recipezaar
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Serves 8

4 large potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
5 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup light sour cream
6 green onions, chopped
1/3 lb bacon, cooked till crisp and crumbled
1 cup light sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes and poke full of holes. Bake for approximately one hour or until tender. This part can be done the day before to save time, or alternatively you could place all 4 potatoes in the microwave for approximately 12 minutes.

Scoop the flesh out of the potatoes and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork. Save about 1/2 of the potato peels and chop up and add to the bowl. Fry bacon until crisp and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly add the flour and whisk to incorporate them into a roux. Let the mixture cook for 1-2 minutes until the roux is a pale, golden color. Slowly add the milk, whisking to incorporate the roux and milk together. Once combined, add chicken stock and garlic. Turn heat to medium high and let milk mixture heat up.

Once hot (but not boiling), stir in the potatoes, green onions and bacon. Turn heat down to low and stir in sour cream. Slowly add the grated cheddar so it doesn't all clump together. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Click here for printable version of Baked Potato Soup
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THE RESULT?
Holy crap. This was good. It's very rich and decadent tasting so I could only handle a small bowl. I'm sure I added another roll to my post-pregnancy body.