This recipe makes about 4 hearty servings (I usually double it and put the leftovers in the freezer)
1/2 lb pepper bacon
4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp flour
4 c (1 quart) half and half
8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt and Pepper to taste
1. In a large pot filled with water, boil the potatoes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a saucepan until it is extra crispy; almost burnt (this is important. it will soften up once you add it to the soup).You can either cook the bacon in strips and then crumble it, or you can chop the bacon into small pieces and then cook it. I like to chop it fist and then cook it, because its easier that way.
2. Take the bacon out of the pan and set aside, leaving the grease. Sauté the
onion in the bacon grease until translucent. In a separate bowl, dredge the cheese in the flour until well coated; this keeps the cheese from sticking to eachother and helps thicken the soup up a little bit.
3. Drain the cooked potatoes. Return the potatoes to the pot and add the cream and onions. Bring to a simmer. Slowly add the cheese one handful at a time,waiting until each handful is all melted before adding another. Add the bacon very last and salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy! To make it interesting serve it in a bread bowl.
* You can use heavy cream in place of the half and half but it will make it an extremelly thick soup; or you can use a combination of the two but I use the half and half and its plenty thick. It all just depends on your taste.
** Potato soup in general can be very bland so I add ALOT of pepper and some salt. If you don't like pepper then you can omit it and use regular bacon although I dont reccomend it. The pepper gives it a really nice flavor.
*** This freezes extremely well. Just put what's left in tupperware bowls and when you go to eat some just thaw it out add a tablespoon or so of water and heat it up. MMMMM Good!
