YUMMY BAKED POTATO SOUP

Charley and I decided we wanted baked potato soup today.

While he was out in the garden digging more potatoes, I made the soup.

First, I gathered all the ingredients.....

cooked bacon (to be crumbled up), flour, potatoes which have been baked in the oven

milk and melted butter

sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese

I apologize for not taking more detailed pictures of the process, but I had a vision of me dropping my husband's camera into the pot of soup. So, we fast forward to the finished product.....

in the pot

and in the bowl.

Of course, you should have some cornbread....

A few tips on making this delicious soup:

Gather all the ingredients before hand.
Have the potatoes baked, skinned and cut up.
Have the bacon cooked and crumbled and have the other ingredients measured out and waiting.

Also if you don't want to be standing at the stove a long time stirring the soup (waiting for it to get hot and thickened), put the milk in the microwave and heat it for 2 or 3 minutes on power level 6 to warm it up just a bit before adding it to the butter and flour mixture.

I'll be honest, this is a very, very good soup, but it requires your attention.
It has to be stirred almost constantly to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot, that's why you need to have everything ready to go.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll want to cook it all the time.


BAKED POTATO SOUP

4 large baked potatoes (or more smaller ones)
2/3 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup all purpose flour
6 cups of milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
12 (or so) slices of bacon (cooked, crumbled)
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz container sour cream

Wash potatoes and prick several times with fork. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then scoop out pulp and set aside, discarding skin. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup bacon and 1 cup cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream. Add extra milk if necessary for desired thickness. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of the remaining bacon and cheese.

Hope you give it a try. It is a very good meal for an autumn day.