Loaded Potato Soup

Despite the starch overload, I love potatoes. I love them as hash browns or french fries. I adore them au gratin. I enjoy them in stews. And even baked, potatoes are a welcome addition to my plate. Their versatility is great as you can even use them to make breads. But potatoes have gotten a sullied rep as both boring and carb-loaded, resulting in some folks avoiding them. Sure, the sweet potato is my often preferred choice. But potatoes have their place, and there is no replacement for a loaded baked potato.

The whole process of making this came about because I had some family visiting and in an effort to show my cousin the beauty of cooking, I asked, "What are your favorite foods? Let's make them." Alfredo was first on the list, and that's a breeze. The other selection was Loaded Potato Soup, something I'd never even considered making.

I avoid creamy soups for caloric reasons, mostly. The same goes for Alfredo, actually. Of course, given my recent obsession with curries, I can't say I've stuck to a low fat diet by a long shot, so trying a new soup recipe was easy to agree on.

The truth is that I can't say I've ever tried this soup. That's because bacon and I are not amigos, as pork isn't something I cook or eat. Even before that, though, I can't say I was really on the bacon bandwagon. It's become such a big deal the past 10 years, but I never panted for it like a dog in the window of a sausage shop. I've always had a preference for turkey bacon. So that's what I decided to do here; make a turkey bacon version.

It all started much like mashed potatoes. I boiled some cubed potatoes for about 20 minutes until they were fork-tender. Now, I'd actually recommend not going over that time, as making them too soft can result in mashed potatoes, which is not ideal when trying to make a chunky soup.

Using a dutch oven or large pot is the easiest method, as you can use it for the taters and the soup. Once the potatoes were cooked, I heated some oil and sauteed onion and garlic. I added some flour dissolved in water, milk, and chicken broth and heated it over medium until it began to simmer, stirring it frequently. I added the potatoes back to the pan and stirred in chopped bacon. Lastly, I lowered the heat and stirred in the sour cream, cheese, seasonings, and green onion. Another 2-3 minutes and the soup was ready to serve.

The great thing about creamy soups like this is that you can adjust the thickness as desired but increasing or decreasing the thickening ingredients, which in this case was sour cream and cheese. The flour is part of this as well, but at the end of cooking you can just tweak as needed to get the desired consistency.

I found this really tasty. I am a big turkey bacon fan as it is and in this soup I found the flavor perfect.

Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil or butter
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 onion)

2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 minced cloves)

1 tablespoon flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

2 1/2 cups whole milk

2 1/2 cup chicken broth (I used bouillon)

8 strips of cooked bacon

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1-2 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

Cut potatoes into bite-sized cubes. Heat a large pot of water to boil, then add potatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and remove from heat. In a large pot, heat cooking oil over medium-high, then add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add the flour and water mixture to the pot and stir. Slowly stir in milk and broth, then heat over medium until the mixture begins to bubble, stirring frequently. Add in potatoes and stir, then cut bacon into bite-sized pieces and mix in. Stir in sour cream, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and green onions and continue cooking 1-2 minutes.