Potato Soup

Fall is finally starting to set in here, and nothing is better than a hearty soup when the weather starts to cool down. When I told my friend Carrie I was planning on making this, she suggested putting some corn in--it was a delicious addition! As I was starting to cook, Nic told me that potato soup was one of his favorite things his mom made, so that's a lot of pressure. (She had carrots in hers, but I'm not so much a fan of cooked carrots.)

Luckily, I got a thumbs up for this soup. The homemade croutons that were supposed to go with it? Burnt to a crisp, and I am still sitting in a grey fog. Whenever I turn my oven on, bad things seem to happen...

Ingredients:
4 slices turkey bacon
2 leeks, sliced thinly
1 medium white onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil
3 tbs. flour
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
5 cups diced potatoes
1 1/2--2 cups whole milk (depending on how thick you want your soup)
1-2 cups corn
1 tbs. chopped parsley
salt/pepper

Directions:
Chop the bacon, cook in large saucepan on medium heat. Add leeks, onion, butter, and oil. Cook until the leeks and onion are tender. Mix in the flour. Stir in chicken broth and potatoes, continue stirring until the soup starts to thicken. Cover and simmer on low heat until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. If you want a creamier (as oppposed to chunkier soup) take 2-3 ladels of the soup and blend until smooth. Make sure to leave the lid of the blender askew so the heat can get out. Put the blended mixture back in the pot. Add milk, corn, and parsley. Continue cooking until the soup is warm again. Garnish with parsley and shredded cheddar cheese.