Potato Pepperjack Soup

Pic courtesy of The Sister's Cafe

I hope you guys are prepping for lots of soup recipes because it's that time of year and my all-time favorite meal in the whole world is, yes, you guessed it- soup. No other food, in my opinion, can capture so many flavors in one bite. I just made this one and it's so delish, that I had to post it right away. My non-vegetable-eating husband even loved it. Oh, but you better create some kind of calorie deficit before you embark on this one- it's laden.

Potato PepperJack SoupPo
adapted from The Sister's Cafe

2 T olive oil
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 ½ cups chicken broth (I used water and 2 bouillon cubes)
4-5 cups diced potato
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (or use bacon bits)
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
scant 1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 cup heavy cream (could probably use half milk, half cream on this one)
½ cup butter
½ flour

Boil potatoes in water until tender; about 15 minutes. In the meantime, combine olive oil, peppers, onion, garlic and carrot in a medium sauce pan. Sauté on medium heat until vegetables are soft. Drain all liquid from potatoes and add vegetables and broth to the pot. Add bacon, milk, salt, pepper and thyme. Prepare roux by melting butter in a separate pot and stirring in flour to make a paste. Slowly add cream and allow to bubble, stirring, until roux thickens and comes away from the sides of the pan. Add roux to soup mixture along with the cheese. If necessary, add milk to desired consistency. Serves about 6.