Loaded Potato Soup

     It does not matter what restaurant I am at, if there is potato soup on the menu I  am ordering it! My favorite potato soup, without a doubt, is the potato vidalia soup from The Sports Page in Highlands, North Carolina. It is creamy, chunky, and perfect for a hungry belly right after a long hike-- of course I follow it up with a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and maybe a piece of pie or carrot cake. Don't judge me. I only get to eat at The Sports Page like three times a year so when I'm there I have to order everything I love.

     Back to the potato soup...

     Fall weather brings with it the urge to snuggle up with a nice warm bowl of soup in your hands. I have made at least 3 different soups in the past week-- I can't get enough of them! I had not made loaded potato soup in quite some time, plus I had all the ingredients, so I decided to whip some up for me and Adam. My recipe is really just a little of this, a little of that, so feel free to substitute, add in, or change it to please your tastes. Here is what I did to make mine :)

You will need:

4 slices of thick cut bacon, 1/4 cup diced onion, 3 tablespoons flour, 2 1/2 cups milk*, the meat of 4 baked potatoes, 1/3 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons chopped green onions, 1/2 cup shredded cheese

*If you like thicker soup use about as much milk as I did. If you like a thinner soup, mix in a cup of chicken broth with the milk-- or just add more milk!

Start by browning the bacon in a pot or large skillet-- I used a large skillet. This recipe only serves about 3 people so I didn't need a huge pot.

When the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the grease, and add the chopped onions in-- with the grease. Don't drain off the grease!

When the onions are nice and tender, sprinkle in the flour...

and whisk and whisk and whisk so that there are no lumps. Cook the flour for about a minute, or until it turns lightly golden. It should look like the picture.

While whisking, pour in the milk (and chicken broth if you like).

Boil for several minutes or until thickened.

When the soup becomes thickened you will want to have the potato "meat" ready so you can quickly stir it in.

After you stir in the potatoes, stir in the sour cream and green onions.

And finally, stir in the cheese!

Garnish with bacon, more green onions, and cheese. This was just what the doctor ordered.

Have a great day my friends! Love ya!