3 to 4 good sized baking potatoes, peeled and cubed (could sub potato flakes)
16oz frozen broccoli, or fresh
1 lb bacon
1 medium yellow onion, diced
8oz sharp cheddar, grated
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbs butter
10(ish?) cups chicken broth/water with bullion, etc.
4oz cream cheese, cubed
(?) water
salt and pepper
Bring broth to a boil. Add peeled and diced potato chunks. You want the chunks to boil down to almost nothing, to add density to the soup. You could probably skip this step by adding potato flakes, but I didn't have those. I used a masher once they started to break up to speed up the process. This can take some time, so feel free to add water as it boils off.
Cook bacon til extra crispy. I would recommend going by the oven directions for it, but you can pan fry per package directions as well. I could not resist just eating a few strips, truth be told. But whatever. Crumble the bacon and
set aside.
While the bacon and potatoes are cooking, saute onion in butter with garlic and a sprinkle of salt until browned, add to the pot. You can skip this step and just add the three ingredients directly into the pot, but I like to caramelize them first.
Add broccoli once your potatoes are mostly softened to nothing but crumbly chunks. Bring back to a boil.
Once the broccoli is soft, add cheeses, stirring in gradually as they melt. You can either add the bacon directly, or sprinkle on top as needed. Bring back to a boil, then simmer for at least five minutes.
I didn't add any additional salt to this, as the broth/cheese/bacon were salt enough.
Congratulations, you have a ton of soup.
