Chunky Baked Potato Soup

I made this for dinner last night because the outside temps were pretty low for a summer night and because I look for any excuse to pretend autumn is already here!!  I originally got this recipe from Wendy Jeubs cookbook Love in the Kitchen. She is a mom of many and cooks for about fifteen people every night. I have tweaked it a little and made it my own. This recipe is for 6 servings. You can double it if you are cooking for a crowd. It makes enough for our family of 5 and then leftovers twice for my husband to take for lunch at work. 

4 cups of peeled and diced potatoes
1T oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 stick of butter
1/2  C flour
8 cups of milk
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled
1 C shredded cheddar cheese


Boil your diced and peeled potatoes until they are tender. When those are almost done, in a skillet sauté  your chopped onions in the oil until clear and tender. Now in a heavy saucepan melt your stick of butter and add the flour, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute stirring constantly. Gradually add milk - this is where I decided adding the milk warm instead of cold will speed up the cooking process. So I pop 2 cup servings of the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes then add the 2 cups every 2 minutes until you have added 8 cups. Then add your drained potatoes, the onion, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened. Serve with shredded cheese and bacon bits. ( I didn't use bacon last night but usually do, I just cook a couple pieces on the stovetop and then crumble it up in a bowl)

It is sooooo yummy, but probably does the waistline no favors so we don't cook this super often. I served it with buttered toast last night and it hit the spot!!!