Grandma Mary’s Bacon Potato Soup
Makes 4 (6 servings) cups

Ingredients:

• 3 – cups diced potatoes (2 small potatoes, about 1 pound)
• 2 – stalks celery
• 1 – medium onion
• 2 – strips bacon (2 ounces)
• 1-1/2 – cups chicken broth
• 6 – ounces cooked ham, diced
• 1/2 – cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Wash the potatoes and remove spots and blemishes.
2. For this soup, you can use the potatoes with or without the peel. Cut into 3/4-inch pieces to equal about 3 cups.
3. Wash and cube the celery and onion to equal about 3/4 cup of each.
4. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and, when cool, crumble and set aside. Add the chicken broth to the bacon grease in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
5. Add the potatoes and celery, and simmer 15 minutes.
6. Add the onion and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until the potatoes, celery, and onion are tender.
7. With your food processor or blender, process 3/4 of the potatoes mixture until smooth. (If the vegetables get too thick to process, add broth and process until smooth.
8. Return puree to the saucepan with the reserved vegetables and broth. Stir. (The soup should be the thickness of a cream soup.)
9. Stir in the ham and bring to a boil. Then you want to reduce the heat.
10. When the soup gets to a simmer, stir in the cream. (Do not boil.)
11. Serve garnished with crumbled bacon.

Member: America's Home Cooking Network