Potato Soup

Nothing warms the soul like thick, hardy bowl of potato soup. I love to make this dish because every ingredient is normally already around the kitchen. It's not important how much of each ingredient is used; only that the process and type of ingredients are considered. This is a very non-intimidating recipe. Enjoy!

What you'll need:

Large pot

Big spoon to stir with

Potato masher

Small bowl

Wisk

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Bacon

Onion

Garlic

Butter

Flour

Cream

Chicken broth

Potatoes

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To taste; shredded cheese, salt and pepper

As you can tell, I don't have fancy kitchen equipment. I like the feel of cooking the way my grandmother did; use what you have. (I would not be opposed to a new stove though!)

To get started, cut bacon in to about one inch pieces. I used a pound of smoked bacon. In a large pot, brown bacon until crisp. Do not cook too fast, you want to avoid any burning. Once crisp, scoop out bacon and drain on paper towel. Cut onion (I used sweet yellow and green onions) in coarse pieces, mince garlic (I ran out so I used garlic powder), and add a couple of table spoons of butter to bacon grease. Cook just until onion is soft. Be careful, garlic burns easily. Once your onion mixture is cooked, add some flour; I use enough to absorb most of the grease while maintaining a fluid consistancy. Stir until completely blended.

Cut potatoes in large cubes. Place potatoes in onion mixture and stir to coat potatoes with the wonderful flavors. Add chicken broth (or make broth by following the directions on the chicken bullion jar) enough to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil stirring as to not allow ingredients to stick to the bottom of the pot. Cook until potatoes are soft. Once potatoes are done, use your potato masher and mash one time around the pot to add to the wonderful thickness of the broth.

In a small bowl, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour enough cream to keep a liquid consistency. To prevent curdling, dip out a couple of cups of hot soup broth and gradually pour flour & cream mixture into the broth. Now, pour entire mixture back in the pot and gently stir. Your potato soup is now done. Add the crisp bacon, graded cheese, fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste. Voila!