Cool Weather Comforts/Potato Soup

Fall is here and I have been doing some Spring Fall cleaning.  I recently parted with a bunch of items I had around the house, including a bookshelf, games, and this pillow I embroidered when Glenn and I were first married:

The little town of Westville, held there annual Pumpkin Festival recently.  The kiddos like the parade the best.

They get a bunch of candy tossed to em.

The weather has turned cooler and I thought the bluegills would be biting well; not so much.  At least not at Willow Slough.  Terry and I fished it this past Tuesday.  Terry caught one gill and some bass.  All I could catch were bass. 

Terry got his bass all on a rubber lizard.   I used my fly rod exclusively on this trip.  I lost a real nice bass on the 3wt right as I reached for the fish! 

I did manage to get a couple in the boat, as did Terry.  This little one sure was cute:

The scenery was awesome as usual.

Do Ya'all go through spells?  I mean, I find that I do when it comes to cooking. 

Sometimes, I cook often, and sometimes I don't.

For the past several months, I've just been feeding the family catfood as usual.

JK-- I cook, but often it's not anything special.  Potato Soup is rather ordinary if ya ask me, but it is really good.  And I spruce it up with some delicious toppings.  I fix it in the same pan I use to cook the bacon.  Yes, I drain the grease first!  Then I saute minced onions in the remaining bacon residue.

 Mmmm, bacon! :-)

I whisk in flour into a chicken broth base, then add in milk, sour cream, and cooked potatoes.

Here's the finished, delicious, potato soup:

Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized russet potatoes, peeled then chopped
• 1lb bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, minced
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 4 cups milk
• 16oz freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup sour cream
• chopped chives or green onions for topping

Directions

1. Add potatoes to a large pot of cold water then season with 1 Tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil then cook until potatoes are very tender. Drain well then add to a large bowl and mash to your desired consistency (more chunky will mean a chunkier soup.) Can be done ahead of time. Alternatively you could use 5 cups leftover mashed potatoes.
2. Add bacon to a soup pot over medium heat, cook until crisp, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, and then saute until very tender, 7minutes. Sprinkle in flour then whisk until smooth and cook for 1-2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly add milk a splash at a time while whisking constantly to avoid lumps until a smooth sauce has formed, then add the rest of the milk.
3. Season generously with salt and pepper then turn heat up to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer while stirring constantly. Turn heat back down to medium then cook while stirring constantly until soup has slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes.
4. Add half the mashed potatoes then whisk until smooth, and then whisk in remaining mashed potatoes. Add 3/4 of the cheese then whisk until smooth, and then add sour cream and whisk until smooth.
5. Taste then add salt and pepper, and then remove soup from heat to sit and thicken for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls then serve with the reserved cheese, chives or green onions, and bacon.