Potato, Bacon, Cheddar, Beer Soup

Prep time: 45 mins, Cook time: 30 mins, Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:
8-10 potatoes (we used red)
4 cups of whole organic milk
1 16 oz beer of your choice
2 cups of water (use potato water)
6 pieces of bacon (see rue recipe below, omit if vegetarian)
3/4 cup diced sharp cheddar
1 diced onion
4 cloves of garlic
Spices 
1 tbls salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion or garlic power or both ;)
Few sprinkles of Oregano

Directions:
1) Start your water boiling and bacon cooking
2) Start dicing 1/2 of the potatoes and the other half boil until soft
3) Prep and saute onions and garlic
4) Once potatoes are boiled and soft pour aside water and mash up cooked potatoes as fine as you can
5) Add 2 cups of potato water, 3 cups of milk, and beer to ALL potatoes (mashed and diced) along with cheese and cooked onions and garlic
and put on med low heat
6) Start your rue, directions are below, if you are vegetarian skip this step or make with 3 tbls of butter instead of bacon grease
7) When rue is done add to soup, if omitting use a thickening agent such as arrowroot if its not creamy enough, but the mashed potatoes should be creamy enough.

8) Cook down all ingredients for 30 mins












To make bacon rue:
1-2 tbls grease
1 cup of milk
6 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled

Cook down bacon, remove from pan, pour off all but 1-2 tbls of grease, add crumbled bacon back in, and slowly sprinkle in flour as you heat up the grease and bacon. The bacon should be coated, and grease soaked up. I usually only use a 1/4 cup total, once bacon has coat slowly add in some of your milk. We will use 1 cup of milk for this particular rue. Pour hot rue directly into already warming soup.