Bacon & Baked Potato with Blue Cheese Soup

I made this soup and there were no leftovers. I think that says it all. The creamy mild blue cheese is optional. I served it with a crusty baguette. It was delicious. I found this recipe at http://www.kraftfoods.com/ and adjusted it to suit our tastes.

1 tbsp butter/margarine

1/4 c chopped onion or shallot

1/4 c chopped celery

2 c. chicken broth (can use low fat/ low sodium)

1 1/4 c milk (I used 2%)

2 baking potatoes, baked and cubed (1/2 inch)

salt and pepper

8 slices oscar mayer bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled

3/4 c cheddar or creamy blue cheese optional

1 tbsp green onion slices,

1/4 c sour cream

Melt butter in saucepan and add onions and celery and cook and stir 5 mins. or until crisp tender. Add in broth, milk. potatoes and cheese. Stir to mix and then crush potatoes with back of spoon. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

When ready to serve stir in cheese and stir until melted through.

Serve with green onions, some reserved bacon and sour cream if desired.

Notes: I used blue cheese and shallots instead of cheddar and onion. I also left off the celery as I didn't have any. I also whizzed my potatoes instead of crushing them with a spoon. I wanted a smoother soup. As for the bacon you might as well go ahead and cook the whole pack because when you smell it you're gonna want to sample it to make sure it's "soup quality" bacon...lol

Let me know if you like it. This can easily be doubled. The potatoes can be baked days in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use. Just take them out and let them come up to room temperature before using. This is a perfect autumn warmer me up soup.