Creamy Potato Soup

"Easy and very creamy soup with taste! Great served with grilled cheese sandwiches. Will satisfy even the meat lovers in your family." ~Karen from Colorado.

This recipe is #15165 on Recipezaar's web-site. I came across this recipe almost a year ago and I am sad to say that I have made this soup only twice. It is DELICIOUS! Here in Texas we have very few days that I consider "soup weather" (yes, even in the winter). I guess I'd better hurry up and make this again...before it gets too warm to enjoy it!

What you'll need:

*5-6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
*1/2 lb. bacon (cut into bacon bits...I'll tell you how to do this in a bit)
*1/4 cup all-purpose flour
*3 cups chicken broth
*2 cups heavy cream
*3/4 cup frozen corn kernels (or canned, drained)
*1 medium onion, diced
*6 garlic cloves, minced
*1/4 cup butter (optional)
*salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:

1. Fry bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Reserve bacon grease. (Don't worry...I will post how to make perfect bacon bits)

2. Meanwhile, boil potatoes in a large Dutch oven or stock pot in water until tender (but not falling apart)...do NOT add salt! Drain.

3. Pour reserved bacon grease into large empty pot; saute onion and garlic in reserved bacon grease until onion is lightly browned.

4. Add flour to the sauted onion and garlic, stirring until evenly browned; add cream and stir constantly until mixture thickens. Add chicken broth and stir until bubbly.

5. Stir potatoes, corn, and crumbled bacon into the soup; add butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer until butter is melted and stirred into soup.

6. Add milk a little at a time if the soup is too thick for your taste.

*Some side notes...I don't use the butter. Also, this soup will be THICK! I don't add milk at the end to thin it out. Instead, I add 2 whole cans of chicken broth (which ends up to be 4 cups instead of 3).