Chunky Baked Potato Soup

I made this tasty soup for dinner last night and served it with BLTs. It is hearty enough to serve as a stand alone meal with some crusty bread though. I really didn't make any adjustments to the recipe other than using chicken stock instead of chicken broth. I almost always choose stock over broth. I think stock gives a recipe a more full flavor and can make a quick recipe taste like you slaved all day in the kitchen! Anyways, moving on from my love of stock... The only complaint that I have is that the soup was a bit thinner than I would have liked. Not sure exactly what to do about that without sacrificing the wonderful flavor and smoothness. The recipe explicitly says 'Do not bring to a boil" though next time I might try to let it boil just for a second to thicken up. Once the soup sat for a couple minutes at the table it did thicken up a bit and was okay. I received no complaints, it was well loved but in my mind just slightly too thin. Also, I think next time I am going to stir in some bacon ahead in addition to what was sprinkled on top. This would also be lovely with ham instead of bacon. I found this recipe on a blog that I adore, Calm in the Kitchen. Go to www.calminthekitchen.blogspot.com/ and check it out! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

3 large (about 3 pounds) of baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups skim milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese
bacon

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees, scrub your potatoes and poke some holes with a fork. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Meanwhile, you can go ahead and prepare your bacon (if you dig on swine). Place a wire rack on a baking sheet. Lay the bacon strips on top of the rack and bake in the same 425 degree oven for 17-20 minutes (depending on thickness and desired doneness). Set aside to cool, cut into small strips.

Once the potatoes are cooked, set them aside to cool. You can do this the day before even.
When ready to prepare the soup, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the potato out with a spoon. I just gave mine a rough chop, but you can do whatever you wish. If you like a smoother soup, just mash the potato.

In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and oil. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Add the flour and stir to coat the flour in the fats. Using a wisk, slowly add the chicken broth. Once well combined, slowly add the milk, continuing to wisk. Once everything is combined, add back in the potatoes and heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste. (The bacon I had was kind of salty, so I went easy on the salt). Stir to combine and keep over medium heat. Do not let the soup boil.

Before serving, I added the bacon and a little bit of cheddar cheese to the soup, stirring to combine. This is totally optional. You could just add them as toppings or leave them out all together.