Potato Soup

Oooh, this one's a goodie. Even though it should be called "Your Cardiologists Nightmare!" Great comfort food for a wintry mix day like today. Cold and wet=soup!
Potato Soup

1 lb. peppered bacon
5 lb. bag Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 gallon of milk
2 sticks of butter (or a small tub)
cheese (to garnish)
extra bacon (to garnish)
sour cream (to garnish)

Fry bacon until crisp and drain. (Not sure why you have to drain it because you will need to save that grease to put into your soup!)

Peel potatoes and boil until soft (approx. 40 minutes); drain. Return to stockpot, add butter and stir. With hand mixer (OR the imersion blender you got for Christmas) blend well, like mashed potatoes. Slowly add milk to desired consistency and mix until smooth. Chop bacon until fine and add to soup.

Add a little bacon grease too. The more you can stand to use, the better your soup will be, I promise. The crumbles are the best part, so make sure you at least use those.

Simmer on low; salt and pepper to taste. Put a few shots of Tobasco in there too.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, and NO chives!

(Makes a lot, invite your neighbors over!)