Baked Potato Soup

Tonight I did Baked Potato Soup, and it was rather underwhelming. Not TERRIBLE, just pretty bland, and overly thick. I probably let it heat up a bit too far and caused the milk to boil too much. Also, even though I cooked the onion/garlic in bacon fat rather than butter, it still needed more flavor. Maybe more cheese, or something. Oh well.

Baked Potato Soup

2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
3 medium russet potatoes (roughly 1.25 lb)
3 cups milk
2 tbsp sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool, then peel and mash roughly.

In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add onion and garlic to pot with bacon fat, cook until soft. Add flour, stir well. Gradually add milk and whisk to combine. Let sit on medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Add mashed potatoes, cheddar, and plenty of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Add sour cream. Heat slowly until heated through (mine was heated through instantaneously, which is another reason I think I heated/thickened it too far).

Serve garnished with bacon, extra shredded cheddar, and plenty of black pepper.

Serves 4.