yummy comfort food

Baked potato soup
makes 10 cups.

4 large baking potatoes
2/3 c. butter or margarine
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
6 c. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 green onions, chopped and divided
12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
1 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 8 oz. carton sour cream

Wash potatoes and prick several times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for
an hour or until done. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop
out pulp. (I kept the skins on and also just chopped up the potatoes in cubes. I've also boiled the potatoes instead of baking to speed up the process.)

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add 6 cups milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Add potato pulp (or potato cubes), salt, pepper, 2 tbs. green onions, 1/2 c. bacon and 1 c. cheese. cook until thoroughly heated; stir in sour cream. Add extra milk, if necessary, for desired thickness. Serve topped with remaining onions, bacon and cheese.

My friend said jalapeno pepper cheese mixed with cheddar made the soup nicely spicy. I've added jalapenos (canned or pickled works just as well as, sometimes better than, fresh), which also adds a nice kick.

You can also use low-fat cheese, milk and sour cream, if you like.