Baked Potato Soup

This soup is based off of a Cooking Light recipe that I tried a couple years ago and it is sooooo gooood. The coolest part is it is really inexpensive and super low fat/low cal. I bought a 10 lb bag of potatoes for $1 and needed to use them up and my poor sister-in-law who lives around the corner had H1N1... so I made this soup. AND I had also gotten a gallon of milk on sale for $1.47 so it was extra cheap for me!

It's a really hearty soup...hearty enough to feed my husband as a meal.

You need to be careful when boiling the milk, because milk scalds easily and will make all of the soup taste burnt...which is a total bummer. Also, the original recipe called for bacon and I used turkey bacon instead which turned out really well when I chopped it up and fried it up in a hot pan with a little bit of Pam. BUT then the neighbor came to the door and I burnt the first batch of bacon...so keep an eye on the bacon too!

Baked Potato Soup adapted from Cooking Light recipe

3 lbs baking potatoes, baked & peeled (I baked mine in the microwave)

2/3 c. flour

6 c. milk (I used 1%)

1 c. Reduced-Fat sharp shredded cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 c. fat-free sour cream (Only use Name-brand fat-free sour cream. Store brand fat-free is gross)

4 green onions sliced

6 slices bacon chopped and fried crisply

Mash the potatoes in a bowl, set aside. Measure the flour into your soup pot and sloooowly whisk in the milk. Heat milk mixture over medium heat stirring frequently until thick and bubbling. Add the cheese, potatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic. Reduce heat to low and add sour cream and half of the sliced green onions, cooking just long enough to heat through. Sprinkle each individual bowl with bacon, green onions, and extra cheese.