Best Ever Potato Soup

 Today I'm sharing another recipe from my favorites file. I found this in Taste of Home in 1999 and I've been making it ever since. I only make it once a year and it seems it's always the week before Christmas. This soup is quick to pull together during the busy holiday season. Served with a good, crusty bread, it always hits the spot and I love having it as a part of my soup collection. After spending the day bouncing over ranch roads, feeding cattle, trying to stay warm, it's comforting to come home to a hot bowl of homemade soup.

Best Ever Potato Soup

4 Tbsp butter

8 bacon strips, diced

1/2 C chopped onion

1 large carrot, grated

5 C cubed potatoes

16 oz chicken broth

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1/2 tsp each celery seed, salt, and pepper

3 Tbsp tapioca flour (or all purpose flour)

3 C milk

8 oz Velveeta

1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

green onions

red pepper flakes

*In a large soup pot, saute butter, bacon and onion for about 5 minutes. Stir in grated carrot. Add potatoes, broth, parsley, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender - about 15 minutes. Make a slurry with tapioca flour and a little bit of milk. Add slurry, plus additional milk to soup. Simmer for a few minutes. Add cheese; stir until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Garnish each bowl with chopped green onions, grated sharp cheddar cheese, red pepper flakes, and additional chopped bacon..

*I know Velveeta's not 'real' cheese, but it has it's place in my queso and this soup. I also grate my own cheddar cheese for the garnish. We love cheese and just think grating our own from a block, gives recipes a better taste than the pre-packaged grated cheeses.

So dish up a bowl and come join us at the table!