Baked Potato Soup

Today I am sharing a recipe for one of my favorite fall soups: Baked Potato Soup. Like most recipes that I use, this is easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand. I personally prefer to use fat-free or reduced-fat versions of dairy products, but they do not always work in all recipes. Fortunately, in this one they do :)

5 cups mashed potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
6 cups fat-free milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 chopped onion
9 slices turkey bacon, crisp-fried and crumbled
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 green onions, chopped

Over low heat, melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add chopped onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually, add the milk, stirring as you do. Cook over medium heat until thickened and boiling, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.

Add potatoes, 1/2 cup of the bacon, and 1 cup of the cheese. Cook till heated through. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Sprinkle each serving with reserved bacon and cheese and chopped green onions.

Helpful Tips:

- To save time, make mashed potatoes for dinner 1-2 nights before making the soup and make a few extra. You can also substitute instant potatoes or scoop out the pulp from 4-5 baked potatoes.

- Chop the bacon before cooking it and then just fry it in a skillet. To reduce fat, drain well and pat with paper towels to remove excess grease.

- The last time I made this, I did not cook the bacon until crisp. It was cooked well, but was still a little chewy. I also had cut the pieces a little bigger than they would have been if I had crumbled them. The family really liked the bacon this way and I will probably do it this way in the future, but either way works.

Enjoy!!