Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Last of the 5 lb bag of potatoes.  One of them was starting to sprout a bit.  Also took care of some of the bacon in the freezer and half a bag of shredded cheese.  Oh, and I sneaked in the last of the chickpeas, even though they aren't in this posted recipe.  I really enjoyed the texture of the beans next to the potatoes, but you generally don't put them on a baked potato.

As the title implies, this soup includes baked potatoes.  I'm giving the recipe from scratch, but there's no reason you can't use leftover baked potatoes and bacon (is there such a thing?) and make the whole thing in 20 minutes.  It's essentially a fridge-clearing project, like many soups.

The recipe as posted includes sour cream, but you can sub plain Greek yogurt if you wish.  I had the dregs of a jar of garlic alfredo in the fridge and shook it up with the milk before adding to the pot.  It was pretty amazing.  The point of it as an ingredient is to thicken the soup, so any product which accomplishes that goal can be used.

*1-1/2 lb russet potatoes (2 large or 3 medium)
*8 oz bacon
*1 C diced onion
*2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 Tb flour
*1 C milk
*2 C unsalted chicken stock
*1 C shredded cheddar
1/2 C sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
*chopped green onion and extra cheese for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Scrub potatoes clean and place directly on baking rack.  Roast for 1 hour.  Remove with oven mitts and allow to cool until you can touch them.  Peel skins if desired and chop into bite-sized chunks.  If the potato is fully cooked, the skin should pretty much fall off.

2.  While potatoes are cooling, start the bacon.  In a wide, heavy bottomed soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until as done as you like it.  I went extra crispy because I was also rendering off bacon fat to use for other things.  Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and reserve 1 Tb of the fat.

3.  Back in the pot, cook the onions in the bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.  Add flour and cook into a paste.

4.  Gradually add milk, allowing it to thicken before continuing.  Add in stock and bring to a simmer, stirring often to keep the milk from scorching.

5.  Crumble or chop bacon and add to the pot.  I was tempted at this point to just leave it as cream of bacon soup, but I did have three potatoes baked and chopped up.  Stir in cheese and sour cream until melted and smooth, then fold in potatoes.

6.  Taste the finished soup and add salt and pepper as necessary.  Ladle into bowls and serve hot, garnished with more cheese and green onion or chives to garnish.

Difficulty rating  :)