Recipe Rescue: Lean Potato Soup

I won't ever claim to be the best soup chef, but I do enjoy it. Making soup is so simple and allows for your creativity to shine. One of the best thing's about making soup is that if it doesn't quite seem right at first sprinkle in some salt, throw in an onion and the kitchen sink and by dinner you have an amazing dish! What do you say we hop into the kitchen and start tearing things apart?

What You'll Need:

3 medium large Yukon gold potatoes, 1" cubes
(cause they're creamy)
1 celery stalk, chopped fine
1 cup low fat or no fat half and half
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter, unsalted
3 scallions, chopped fine
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
(cheese optional)
1/2 lb bacon, sliced in 1/2 pieces

Putting It All Together:

put cut potatoes in a large pot
with the chicken broth and bring to
boil, simmer till potatoes are fork
tender, but not falling apart. turn heat
to low, add celery and remove a fourth of the potatoes, set
aside to drain
in another pot, yes a pot, you will use this
pot for a rue and the half and half
brown the bacon slowly as to not overcook it or
burn it, once the bacon has rendered turn
the heat down to medium-low and discard all but
2 Tbsp of bacon grease and add the
reserved potatoes you have draining then
mix 1 Tbsp of butter with 1 Tbsp of flour
and add to pot of bacon,(you may want to remove
a few pieces of bacon and crumble for garnish) the
2 Tbsp of bacon grease and the potatoes, mash the
potatoes lightly into the mixture, turn the heat to
low and slowly add the half and half, let cook together
for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add this mixture plus
half of the scallions to the pot of cooked potatoes and
chicken broth. simmer together until desired thickness.
you may choose to mash more of the potatoes in the soup
if it is not thick enough, this will add additional body
and creaminess. s/p to taste
serve and top with bacon, cheese and scallions-this is a
great soup paired with hot french bread or even served in
a bread bowl, which I usually find at Safeway in the fresh
bakery section.

-Another tasty addition is fresh or even dried dill, you can put on as garnish or stir in before serving.