Loaded Baked Potato Soup

from  http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2010/12/loaded-baked-potato-soup.html blog

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP

Potato soup is nice. But, loaded baked potato soup is wickedly delicious. This basic white potato soup is creamy and delicious, the perfect base for some kickin' toppings: salty bacon, cool sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese, crunchy green onions. The recipe makes enough to feed 6-8 adults, but the recipe is quite easy to double, if you plan to make it for a party. Since I whipped up a batch of this soup to use up some of our Christmas ham leftovers, I included ham in the soup, but the soup is perfectly divine without the ham. Just know it's a scrumptious option.

ingredients:

4 stalks celery, finely diced
1 large onion, very well chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
32 ounces cups chicken broth
4-6 cups whole milk
2 cup chopped ham (optional)
6 baked potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Toppings: bacon bits, sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped scallions

directions:

In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat and saute the celery and onion until they are quite soft, about 4-6 minutes. Add the remaining butter to the pot. Once melted, whisk in the flour to make a thick roux, then turn the heat to medium and slowly whisk in the chicken broth, taking care to whisk out any chunky, floury pieces. Stir in the milk (four cups of milk, if you'd like a thicker soup, and more if you'd like your soup texture to be thinner).
Stir in the ham & baked potato pieces (Note: if you don't have baked potatoes lying around the house, you can either cook them until tender in the microwave--just clean them thoroughly, pierce them with a fork, and zap 'em for approx. 15 minutes--or peel & boil them in a pot of salted water until soft & tender. Either way works!) Salt & pepper to taste. If you're like us, you'll probably want a good amount of salt & pepper to really flavor that soup!
Serve with your favorite baked potato toppings. Enjoy!