Hearty Potato Soup

At my house we love Potato Soup. A few months ago I gave you a sneak peek at it in my post What's for Dinner

As I atempt to get this blog on the road my hope is to have a regular segment called WHAT'S FOR DINNER. Today I am going to share with you my sectert to the best Hearty Potato Soup. I know lots of people put sour cream in theirs, but that is not my magical trick.

Here we go.

Cut up your potatoes. However much you need for your family. I'm going to guess 2-3 lbs. But sorry, I didn't really measure anything. But I guess it is time to give you the secret (at least I hope it is a secret, that would be cool if you never knew this and I'm enriching your life by telling you!!)
Cut up your potatoes into medium size pieces and cook them in WHOLE MILK. Put enough milk in your pot to cover the potatoes. Add about 1 tsp of salt. (little flecks are because I use sea salt, I don't like pepper, so add pepper if you like)



As soon as you get those going get you a cookie sheet, the kind with a lip. I use my Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan. Just as a side not here, this is probably my favorite Pampered Chef product. I had one for 12-15 years and broke it a few weeks ago. I was in morning for several days, I couldn't bring myself to throwing it away for way to long. When my hubby said something to me about it I decided it was time.
So this picture is the very first time I have used my new one, I figured it was the perfect way to begin seasoning it. (my other one was black)



I probably could have squeezed a few more in there, but that was enough for me. Stick that in a 450 degree oven and forget about it! (at least for a while).

Then chop up a medium onion and 2-3 garlic cloves and saute in butter.



till it looks like this:



Now make sure that you keep a close eye on the potatoes and stir regularly because they can boil over some or worse, the milk sticks to the bottom and yuck, you have to transfer everything to another pot careful to not scrape the nasty bottom, and that means more dishes to wash... Not that I would know this from experience.

Soon your potatoes will be soft and your bacon will look like this:



Now, take a few potatoes, not many if you don't want your soup too thick and mash them with your potato masher.
Return to the soup and mix well. Add onions.
Grate sharp cheddar cheese, cut up bacon and serve on a cold winter day!

Enjoy!