Loaded Potato Soup....For my friends

With cooler weather comes huge pots of soup...well in my house that is! One of our favorites is Loaded Potato Soup. Potatoes,cheese,bacon and green onions....yummmmmmmmmmm! It's a simple meal served with a basket of rolls and a salad. So for your taste buds good pleasure here is the recipe...the great big family wow we have leftovers version.

Loaded Potato Soup:
Soup Base: Ingredients
Velvetta Cheese- 1...1lb loaf-The largest loaf (you can substitute this with shredded cheese...Velvetta just adds to the creaminess of the soup and I do both too) Cut into squares for easy melting
Chicken Stock or Broth- 2...  32 oz boxes
Heavy Cream or Half in Half- 1 ....2quart container/jug
Corn starch for thickening- I use about 1/2 cup whisked with water to form a thick liquid. I don't mix this until I'm ready to put in the soup base.
salt and pepper

Potatoes- 5 lbs washed and cut to a little larger than bite size pieces
I leave the skins on but peeling them is fine too.

Garnish:
Crumbled bacon
Chopped green onions
Shredded cheese


I start with two huge stock pots. The first pot I boil my prepared potatoes to almost(slightly) tender, drain the water and set aside . Over cooking will cause them to fall apart. In the second pot I add my chicken stock,heavy cream, and velvetta cheese. Cook on a medium heat and stir frequently to avoid scorching the milk. Cook until the cheese is melted. Sometimes I do add shredded cheese to the pot for a more cheesy base. Remember you will be adding cheese for a garnish too. I then add my cornstarch mixture and cook until the soup base thickens.You can add more cornstarch mixture if needed...add in 1/3 cup cornstarch mixed with water increments. Depending on how many are eating at our house I will sometimes add milk to increase the amount of the soup base. Sometimes I have to add more cornstarch too. The thickness of the soup base should resemble a thick pancake batter.
Add cooked potatoes to prepared soup base. Stir gently to avoid mashing the potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes and serve. Top with cheese,bacon and green onion. Freeze any leftovers....if you have any!