Sorry about the delay

Bacon/Potato/Cheddar Cheese Soup
Serves 3-4


Phase One

• Three Potatoes
• Two Carrots
• Two Stalks of Celery

Chop these up into approximately 1 inch chunks.  Stick them into a pot (3 quart) of cold water with 1 tablespoon of salt and bring it to a boil, take it off the heat and let it cool down for a bit

Phase Two

• About 1/4 pound of bacon, chopped up
• One large onion
• 2/3 cup of flour

Fry up the bacon till the bits are nice and crispy (for this part I would use the pot you will be making the soup in, in my case it is a 3.5 liter pot).  Pull the bits out and set them aside. Fry the onion till it is translucent.  Pull out the onion and put it in the bowl with the bacon. Keep the bacon grease and add the flour to it a bit at a time and stir the flour in to make a roux.  Cook the roux, stirring constantly, until it turns a shade of brown you find appealing, then take it off the heat (but leave the burner on).

Phase Three

• 1-1/2 cups of powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper (I prefer white for this one)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Drain the vegetables from phase one, make sure that you reserve the boiling water in a bowl (remember it is pretty hot).  Stir in the oregano, cayenne, pepper, garlic and powdered milk into the water from the boiled vegetables and mix it thoroughly.  Stir the vegetable water/milk mix into the roux (on the hot burner) and stir the mixture up.  Dump in the bacon, onions, and partially cooked potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Phase Four

• 1/3 pound of grated cheddar cheese

Cook this on a low heat (medium low or 2-3 on an electric range) for about five minutes minutes or until the vegetables are the right texture for you.   Add the cheese to the soup about 3-4 minutes before you serve.  It will melt in pretty easily

This is killer with garlic bread..

Great with