Morrisey Makes Stuff: Potato Soup with Clam Chowder Modification

A certain special someone in my life who happens to love potato soup and clam chowder kept mentioning how much he wanted some so who am I do deny my honey yummy home cooked food.
this recipe makes A LOT OF SOUP it's easy enough to half the recipe. i made a lot so my honey would have hot soup for lunch while working out in the cold winter weather. (I'm such a good GF)

We had some and he liked it so much he wanted to share so we invited his parents over for some on Sunday afternoon. So we filled our bellies with hot soup and crackers and then some delish Christmas cookies made by my Mommie Dearest or this time of the year shes known as Christmas Carol
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this only took me a hour in total prep and cook time

What you will need:
10 pound bag of small potatoes
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
1 pound of bacon(i used turkey) (you may not want to use this if making clam chowder see directions below)
4 cups of chicken stock (CLAM CHOWDER MOD: for clam chowder use clam juice)
5 cans of chopped clams (CLAM CHOWDER MOD: ONLY IF MAKING CLAM CHOWDER)
1 pint of heavy cream
1 small white onion

Directions:

you'll need 2 big stock pots (10-12 quart) one for boiling potatoes and one to construct the soup in.
Peel and cube half the bag of potatoes. Boil in salted water until soft enough to puree.
I had to do the following in 2 batches.

add potatoes to the blender with 2 cups of chicken stock (CLAM CHOWDER MOD: use clam juice instead of chicken stock) and half a pint of cream and purée until smooth.

repeat (this will be the base of the soup. it will be pretty thick if you want it thinner add skim milk.) Add this base to your clean stock pot and keep on very low heat
now peel and cube remaining potatoes and boil until tender. these will be for the body of the soup to make it chunky
While the above potatoes are boiling cook your bacon and drain as good as possible. I used turkey bacon to cut down on sodium and calories.

Once the bacon is cooked leave a tiny bit of the fat in the pan and finely chop your onion and sauté it in the bacon fat. If looking for a more low cal just use a couple table spoons of some olive oil. (CLAM CHOWDER MOD: i used the bacon in the chowder but if you want a pure clam chowder omit the bacon)

Add bacon and onion to the base. This is where I added my salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Drain your boiling potatoes and add them slowly to the base stirring every couple of scoops to mix well.

If you are making potato soup you are DONE!! Enjoy with some shredded cheddar on top or plain. I like it plain but I always add extra pepper to mine.

CLAM CHOWDER MOD: if you are making Clam Chowder this is where you add in your clams and let cook for a few minutes so the flavors meet like strangers in the night!
Now get yourself a bowl and a big old spoon and fill your tummy with warm soup and be happy!!

Enjoy and Keep on Making Stuff!