Cheesy potato soup

Okay, there is one thing Mitchell and I know how to make and that’s cheesy potato soup. It’s like O’Charley’s loaded potato soup, but better.

It takes both of us to make it because there are times where multiple parts of the recipe are cooking at the same time. One person could manage it, but it’s easier with two.

Let’s get on with it.

Ingredients:

7-8 white potatoes

1 large block of Velveeta cheese

1 cup of flour

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 medium-sized carton of heavy whipping cream

6 cups of milk

Garlic salt

Bacon bits or a half pound of bacon

Shredded cheese

Start by peeling the potatoes and chopping them into small, square chunks- about the size or your average cheese cube. Rinse them, place in a large pot and set them on the stove at medium to high heat for about 10 minutes or until they are soft.

Chopped potatoes ready to be boiled

While the potatoes are boiling, you can do two things. Get another pot, one large enough to hold about 8 cups of liquid, and combine the flour and melted butter. Then start slowly adding the entire carton of heavy whipping cream and the 6 cups of milk. When I say slowly, I really mean slowly because the flour-and-butter mixture won’t dissolve quickly enough if you add it all at once and it will be chunky.

Milk, heavy whipping cream, flour and butter combo

Also while the potatoes are boiling, we sit another pot or skillet on top of the pot that the potatoes are boiling in and put the entire block of Velveeta cheese in it to melt. If you have a double boiler, it could come in handy for this recipe. We don’t so we just improvise and it works fine. Break the cheese up a bit and add a little of the heavy whipping cream or milk to the mixture. Stir until the cheese is melting.

Our makeshift double boiler for melting the cheese

By the time the cheese has melted and the potatoes are completely softened, you should have the carton of cream and cups of milk added into the flour-and-butter mixture.

Drain the potatoes and place them back into the large pot. Pour the milky mixture in with the potatoes then pour the melted cheese in as well. Stir until it’s completely mixed.

Adding the milky mixture to the potatoes

Adding the cheese to the soup

Add a dash or two of garlic salt, a dash of regular salt, and the bacon bits. If you are using a half pound of bacon, this is when you would cook it up, chop it and throw it in the pot.