Baked Potato Soup

So this is a Cooking Light recipe that we made tonight. Pretty much amazing. I love the fact that the potatoes were baked before making it into the soup and that they were not pureed. It was so good to have some pieces of potato in the soup. It was also good because the weather is turning colder...and we have TONS of this leftover for later on in the week. This can be made into a vegetarian soup by leaving out the bacon.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon)

Ingredients

• 4  baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
• 6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
• 6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

329 (30% from fat)

Fat:

10.8g (sat 5.9g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

13.6g

Carbohydrate:

44.5g

Fiber:

2.8g

Cholesterol:

38mg

Iron:

1.1mg

Sodium:

587mg

Calcium:

407mg