Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Name: Fully Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 bacon strips; 1/2 sausage (of any kind, but I like Hillshire Farm beef sausage); 1 medium white onion; 4 carrots; 2 celery stalks; 3 medium potatoes; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1 quart half and half (up to 1 quart); 2 green onions; 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1 kosher salt; 1 fresh cracked black pepper

GradysGhost @cook_2821743

I make this when the weather starts to turn cold.

A couple of notes on preparation:

••• I like to make this on the first cold days of the year. It's hearty and warming and delicious. ••• If the soup gets too thick while it boils, add a little milk and let it cook in for a minute. If it gets too runny, mix some flour and a small amount of half and half in a separate container, and pour that into the soup instead. I like it thick, but this could easily become gravy by accident.

Also, consider the fat content of a meal made with a pint of half and half. You can use milk instead, but the soup will be less creamy and flavorful. You can use whole cream to make it really rich, but this is really too thick. A good compromise is to mix half and half with milk if you wish to decrease fat content while retaining texture.

I make this when the weather starts to turn cold.

A couple of notes on preparation:

GradysGhost @cook_2821743

I make this when the weather starts to turn cold.

A couple of notes on preparation:

I make this when the weather starts to turn cold.

A couple of notes on preparation:

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6bacon strips
1/2sausage (of any kind, but I like Hillshire Farm beef sausage)
1medium white onion
4carrots
2celery stalks
3medium potatoes
1/2 cupall-purpose flour
1 quarthalf and half (up to 1 quart)
2green onions
1/2 cupshredded cheddar cheese
1kosher salt
1fresh cracked black pepper

Cooking Instructions

1

Prep: Cut the raw bacon into one inch strips. Slice the sausage into 1/4 inch rounds. Peel the carrots and finely dice them, the white onions, and the celery. Peel and dice the potatoes into roughly one inch square chunks. Finely slice the green onions. If your cheddar is a block, shred it.
2

Put a soup pot on the stove over medium heat and let it warm up empty for a few minutes.
3

Meanwhile, prepare a plate with a couple of paper towels laid over it, and have a couple more paper towels handy.
4

Drop the bacon chunks into the soup pot. Watch out for the sizzle-pop. Stir these regularly to keep them from sticking. Cook them past done, almost to the point of burning. Turn heat down to medium low and pull the pot completely off the heat. Remove the bacon, ideally with tongs, and place it on the toweled plate. Cover with the other paper towels and carefully press down - WITHOUT BURNING YOURSELF - to soak out the grease. However, retain all of the bacon grease in the soup pot. The bacon itself can be set aside. You won't need it again until serving time.
5

Put the pot back on the medium-low stove. Add 1/4 cup of the flour. Mix it into the grease to form a roux. Add as much of the rest of the flour as you need to make the roux thick. Depending on how much grease the bacon put off, you may need more or less flour.
6

Add the celery, onions, and carrots to the roux. Mix well, raise the heat back to medium, and cook 3-5 minutes until the veggie juices start to release. Stir the little bit of liquids into the roux. Don't let the roux burn. Decrease heat if need be.
7

When the roux is thick and bready, reduce heat to medium low and stir about half a cup of the half and half into the roux. This makes things quite doughy. Add the potatoes and sausage, then cover them with the rest of the half and half (and milk if you want to thin the broth some). Add salt and pepper, stir.
8

Slowly bring the heat up to a boil, then reduce again to a simmer. Cover it and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir and unstick the pot a few times throughout.
9

When you can cut straight through the potatoes easily with a wooden spoon, it's done.
10

Crush the crispy bacon you made earlier into tiny bits. Serve the soup in a bowl with cheddar cheese, green onion slices, and the bacon bits as garnish.