Recipe: Cheesy Potato Soup

Lately it looks like I'm not eating anything but soup! And really, that's not far from the truth. We've had great "soup weather" lately.

Cheesy Potato Soup

1) Dice 4-6 slices of bacon into pieces. Cook the bacon with 2 tablespoons of butter in a large stockpot until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and let it drain on paper towels. Set aside -- you'll use this bacon to top the soup later.

2) Dice 2 carrots and a large yellow onion. Add the carrots and onions to the bacon grease and butter. Let them cook until the onion is translucent and the carrot begins to soften.

3) Peel 6-8 red potatoes and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Add the potatoes to the pot.

4) Add 1 quart of chicken stock to the potatos/onions/carrots. Bring to a boil for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are very tender.

5) While the potatoes are cooking, in a separate pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of flour and let it cook for a couple minutes, whisking constantly. Add 3 cups of milk or half and half. Bring the milk mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

6) When the milk mixture has reached your desired thickness, remove the pot from heat and stir in 2 cups of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese.

7) Pour the milk/cheese mixture into the potato mixture. Let it simmer until it reaches desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8) Serve the soup with bacon, grated cheese and scallions as garnish.