Bacon and Potato Heart Stopper Soup

This is a fabulous soup (and a favourite of my hubby's) that tastes wonderful but will put your cholesterol level into the stratosphere! This soup makes plenty so if you have a smaller group you may want to cut it in half.

1lb thickly sliced bacon, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, coursely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 medium to large potatoes, cubed
4 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 cup 10% creamer (original recipe called for whipping cream)
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp cilantro or coriander
to taste salt & pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Drain off all but 1/4 cup of the bacon grease.

In a soup pot, saute the celery and onion in a little of the bacon grease until onion becomes clear. Add garlic and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add potatoes; toss to coat. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add bacon to potato mixture. Add enough chicken broth to just cover the potatoes (approximately 4 cups). Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

In the skillet used for the bacon, cook the flour in the remaining 1/4 cup of bacon grease for 1-2 minutes. Add the cream and heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add the cream mixture to the potato mixture, heating through. Puree approximately half of the soup and return it to the pot. Season to taste.

Originall from: http://www.souprecipes.com/