Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of bacon (I used turkey bacon)
• 1 white inion, diced (2 cups)
• 1 cup minced celery
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 6 cups peeled and diced russet potatoes (2 lb.)
• 1 tbsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp paprika
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. tabasco sauce (I used Franks and added substantially more hotsauce-to taste)
• 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Salt, pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in a large pot. Once cooked, transfer out of pan and leave drippings in the bottom of the pan. You will use the drippings as a base for adding the rest of the ingredients. Dice bacon and use to top soup when ready to serve.

2. Add onion, celery, and garlic to the drippings (I added extra virgin olive oil and butter since turkey bacon does not produce the same amount of drippings as regular bacon). Cook over medium heat until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Add  potatoes, dry mustard, and paprika. Stir to coat potatoes.

4. Stir in broth, worcestershire, and franks hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook partially covered until potatoes are soft-about 10-15 minutes.

5.  Coarsely mash the potatoes and stir in the cheddar and half-and-half. Remove from heat and season.

Here’s my thing, I’ve been on the hunt for a reaalllyyyyy good potato soup recipe. Unfortunately, this wasn’t it. Although, it was still quite good. It was a little “soupy” for my taste. Potato soup should be chunky and thick (some may disagree). This was not thick by any means. However, it could partially be due to the fact that I used low fat half-and-half (I don’t recommend that). There wasn’t enough liquid while cooking the potatoes to soften them completely. I would either add more of the liquid ingredients, or boil the potatoes separately and transfer them over once soften. I ended up adding more cheese and more hotsauce, which gave the soup much more flavor.

Unfortunately, I am still on the hunt for a great potato soup recipe. Better luck next time.

The original recipe can be found here!