Potato Bacon Soup

This Christmas was a year of new traditions.  One of them was a cream potato bacon soup on Christmas Eve. This was thick and creamy, a nice, tasty, yet nutritious filling recipe that broke up all of the snacks and sweets!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (1/2 package) cooked until crisp and chopped Bacon
2-3 T. reserved bacon drippings
4 T. Minced Onion
2 T. Garlic Paste
5 lbs German Butterball Potatoes, peeled & cubed (about 1" pieces)
32 oz chicken stock (approx) - make your own for flavor you cannot purchase!
8 oz Raw Milk (if you substitute, please use heavy cream rather than commercial milk)
1/8 lb REAL butter
Salt & Pepper to taste  


Method: (About 30 minutes to prepare)
I grilled up the bacon on a "Foreman" type grill, since it had an easy tray for catching the drippings for me.  It measured right out to the 2-3 T. needed and the bacon was nice & crispy.  Set aside.


Saute minced onion and garlic paste over medium low heat in bacon drippings in a large soup pot.  Stirring often until everything looks a little golden brown - about 4-5 minutes.


Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally.  Add enough stock to cover potatoes, cover the pot and simmer for about 15-20 or until potatoes are fork tender.


Using a mashing tool, mash potatoes in pot, but leaving a few chunks for a nice consistency.  You should have a nice thick, creamy mixture.  


Add butter and milk. Stir to combine well. 


When consistency is right for you, add chopped bacon and simmer stirring often.


Serve hot.  You can garnish with chives, more bacon or cheese.


We wanted more bacon in ours, so we put it all in the soup (although for the picture it would be prettier with bacon & chives), added cheese crumbles and crackers to garnish!  It was SO good, the little bit of leftovers served as a snack later on.  This was the first time I'd ordered these potatoes and I wanted to make something special.  They were golden and juicy when I cut into them - like an apple!


Enjoy!

Original Recipe source: Cooking by the Seat of Our Pants
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