This is comfort food at its best!  Loaded with ham, bacon, cheese, and potatoes…this is a meal in a bowl. You could serve it on a big game day for a crowd or to your family on a weeknight.  I made this Potato Soup recipe last Thursday night when we had a blizzard.  It’s was the perfect food for a cold night!  I happened to have all of the ingredients in my cupboard.  This soup has the same white sauce base as my recipe for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham with more milk added to the sauce.

Start by pealing and chopping your potatoes into bite sized pieces.

Next place the chopped potatoes in a pot and fill the pot with just enough water to cover the potatoes.  Bring the potatoes to a boil and boil them for 5 minutes.  After the potatoes have boiled, drain them and set them aside in a bowl until you are ready to add them to the soup.

While the potatoes are boiling, you can cook the bacon in a pan or in the microwave.  When the bacon is done, you can set it aside on some paper towels for it to cool.  When the bacon is cool, you can chop it into small pieces.

Next chop up the onion and heat it up in a pan with some butter until it is cooked and tender.

Now you can set the cooked potatoes, cooked bacon, and cooked onion aside and start on the soup.  Melt the butter in a pan and then pull the pan off of the heat.  Then mix in the flour to make a paste.

Now add the milk and put the pan back on the heat.  Heat the mixture over medium heat until it starts to bubble, stirring constantly.  You have to stir this soup the whole time or it will scorch on the bottom of the pan.  As the soup heats up, it will thicken.  When it bubbles, turn down the heat to low.

Add the potatoes, chopped bacon, diced ham, chopped onion, shredded cheese, salt and pepper.

 Warm the soup on low until everything is heated up and until the cheese is melted.  Stirring it occasionally.  Now you are ready to serve your soup.  You can garnish each bowl with some bacon, cheese, sour cream, and chives.