This soup is so so good. It doesn’t photograph well, so I chose an image that represents how I feel about it instead. I first made this when my husband had his wisdom teeth taken out (2 days after we got back from our honeymoon!). I modified and mixed a few recipes I found on the internet and I’ve been meaning to document it because the only record I have of this deliciousness is a crumpled page of a magnetic note pad/my memory. This soup is NOT low-calorie. I specifically changed it to provide nutrition for my husband who couldn’t chew, but that’s also what makes it so good. A few ingredients can be substituted for healthier alternatives, however. This soup is not rocket science, things can be changed and added and it still pretty much tastes amazing. In fact, with how many times I’ve made this in the past 5 months, I’ve subbed vegetable broth for chicken broth, added too few/many leeks/potatoes, and have been completely off by the amount of broth needed and it’s still awesome each time. There’s something about the creamy mixture of potatoes and leeks.

Ingredients:

• 2 strips of bacon
• 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
• 1 medium sized onion (it doesn’t really matter what kind)
• 3 leeks (or two giant leeks or 4 small leeks)
• 3 large potatoes
• 2 cans (14.5oz) of chicken broth (about 3 cups?)
• 1 1/2  cups milk (or cream if you really want to be bad)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions!

1. In a large sauce pan (I use a ceramic dutch oven) cook the bacon on medium heat until it’s really crispy. It should be crispier than normal bacon that you’d eat for breakfast. Take it out and let it cool off for a bit and then chop it up in to tiny bacon-bit pieces.
2. Turn the temperature down to low and melt butter in the bacon fat (you can use less butter if you want), and toss the bacon bits back in.
3. Chop up the onion and leeks and stir into pot. Cover and cook for 20 minutes
4. Chop up potatoes and stir in. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Stir in broth, milk, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender (soft enough to be cut with a fork).
7. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
8. Lightly blend the soup so the potatoes get mushed up a little bit and thicken the sauce (you still want chunks). This is not a pureed soup so don’t blend too much! I use my kitchen-aid stand mixer with the ceramic triangle attachment – for about 30 seconds on a slow speed – a blender or food processor can work too.
9. Return to heat for a few minutes just to warm it back up.
10. Serve in bowls with cheese on top. This recipe serves 4-5.