Creamy or chunky potato soup

You can eliminate the bacon and use vegetable broth if you like. In that case, add a bit of butter to the pan to take the place of the bacon fat. Also if you don’t like garlic, just leave it out.

• 1/2 pound bacon, cut up, sautéed and set aside, leaving a couple tablespoons fat in pan.
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• Anywhere from 1 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3-4 pounds baking potatoes, chunked up, peeled or not (you can also use Yukon Gold or red, but they will be a little less able to thicken the soup, due to their waxy, rather than starchy, quality – check my tip below about adding potato flakes)
• 6-8 cups chicken or veggie broth or as needed
• Cream or half & half  (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garnish: fresh parsley, sour cream, bacon, shredded cheese (optional)

Cook onion in bacon fat until golden. Add garlic and cook a minute. Add potatoes and 6 cups broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Puree soup as desired, either leaving it chunky or creamy. Add more broth if needed. Stir in as much cream as you like.

Tip from Rita’s kitchen

Instant cream soup thickener:  Add potato flakes if necessary after you puree soup, but be careful, you won’t need much if at all, and they thicken it pretty quickly.