When Brett and I were dating he wanted to impress me by making this soup and yep, I was pretty impressed. This is the perfect warm comfort when you come in from the snow. It’s spicy, but not so much that my 4 year old wouldn’t eat it. . . . oh, and did I mention the bacon? Bacon just makes every soup better. 
Hard Rock Cafe (copycat) Potato Soup
12 slices bacon, fried crisp
apx 1-2 Tbsp. oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
2//3 cup flour
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced peeled potatos (bite size)
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. Tobasco
2 tsp. crushed red chili peppers
1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup grated chedder cheese
1/3 cup diced green onions
When making soup I like to have most of my things ready to go before I begin. So, start by getting your cutting board out and chop up the parsley, potatoes, and green onion. I leave the parsley and potatoes on one side of the cutting board because they are put in at the same time, and leave the green onions on the other side. Crumble up your bacon and set aside. (I like to fry my bacon ahead of time and keep it in the freezer so it crumbles easily.) Get a big pot and pour the oil in the bottom. Turn your stove heat to medium and cook the onions in the oil until transparent. Add more oil if it is sticking to much. Add flour stirring constantly about 3-5 minutes. Add broth gradually, still stirring, but now with a whisk until thickened. Stir in potatoes and parsley for about 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to a low/medium . While that’s still going, in a large measuring cup or bowl I get all of the remanding ingredients minus the green onions and cheese combined. This gives the potatoes a little more time to cook. Now you can turn the stove down to a simmer, add the spices and cream mixture and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add cheese and green onion. Stir until cheese melts.
This soup tastes the best in a bread bowl. I made our bread bowls with Rhodes Rolls there’s a tutorial HERE
