I found what was missing in my Potato Soup

Potato soup was never a staple in the Hughes kitchen, though a somewhat bastard cousin was... see my grandma's Potato Goup recipe. In my kitchen, Potato Soup is a fall favorite, not only because it tastes delicious, but also because it is an easy recipe that you can throw in the crockpot and forget about while you're at work or school. My recipe changes a little each time I make it. I'm always adding spices or trying out new ways of thickening it up, adding cheese, adding cream and sifted flour, playing with reducing the fat (ha, yeah right!). All this experimenting was for one simple reason... I felt that it was missing something. Of course it tasted great, but it was missing that one ingredient that would make it AWESOME. I found it last night as I was making the soup and unsurprisingly it is a staple that could be found in MANY of my grandma's dishes. Bacon grease. That's right... good ol' lard was the key to unlocking the secret of this dish. This takes me back to my grandma's kitchen where she would have tubs of lard stored in gallon sized old olio containers. I'm sure she would have recognized what it needed right away.

Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients
5 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced 
32 oz chicken broth (I use low sodium, but I don't think it really matters)
6 sprigs or 1 tbs fresh thyme leaves (I remove them from the stems)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup sifted flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbs bacon grease 
pinch of white pepper to taste
pinch of salt to taste 

In a crock pot combine potatoes, chicken broth, thyme, onion, and garlic. Set on low and let cook for 6 to 7 hours.

In the meantime, fry up some bacon for garnish. (See my handy tips for cooking bacon here)

30 minutes before serving to the crockpot to high and add the bacon grease. In a small bowl whisk together cream and sifted flour and add it to the soup mixture. If I have leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge I will add them at this time to make the soup a little thicker. 

After letting it simmer for 20 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with shredded cheese, bacon bits, chives and sour cream.