Ingredients

Scale

3 thin slices of lean bacon
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped carrot
3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 small bay leaf
2 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
1 – 1 1/2 cups of baked potato flesh (2 – 3 potatoes)
1 cup low fat milk
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For the top: extra shredded cheese, snipped green onions or chives and the cooked bacon

Instructions

Put your potatoes in the oven at 350 F. to bake until soft and tender when poked with a fork. I like to wet mine and sprinkle them with salt, then place directly on the oven rack to bake. It’ll take about an hour.
Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon, stir and cook until it’s crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and chop or crumble it.
Pour any excess bacon fat out of the pan leaving just a thin film on the bottom of the pan, then add the mushrooms, onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Saute for several minutes or until the onion is soft & translucent.
Add the broth and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 – 15 minutes or until all the veggies are very tender. Remove the bay leaf and pour the soup into a blender. Add the cream cheese and blend until smooth.
When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and scoop out the flesh. Put the potato flesh in a bowl and mash roughly with a fork. Leave some chunks if you want chunky potato soup.
Pour the blended mushroom mixture back into the pan and stir in the milk and potatoes. Heat over medium low heat until hot, then stir in the cheddar cheese. Stir until melted.
Pour into bowls and top with shredded cheese, snipped green onions and some of the bacon.

Notes

You can also bake the potatoes ahead of time and store them in a bag in the fridge, or scoop out the flesh and roughly mash and store in a container until time to make the soup.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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