Real Food Recipes - Baked Potato Soup

6 slices of bacon (from pigs not treated with rBST, hormones or antibiotics, and with no nitrates or nitrites)
1 c. chopped onion
2/3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
6 c. chicken bone stock
4 c. diced baked potato
2 c. organic cream-top milk (whole and non-homogenized)
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 t. dried basil, crushed or 4 t. fresh, chopped
2 t. real sea salt or Redmond Real salt
1 t. minced fresh garlic
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (from cows not treated with rBST, hormones or antibiotics)
1/2 c. sliced green onion
Hot pepper sauce
Reserved crisp cooked bacon bits
Additional shredded cheese
Sour cream (from cows not treated with rBST, hormones or antibiotics)
Italian parsley, chopped

Directions: In a 4 to 6-qt. Dutch oven cook bacon and onion over medium-high heat until bacon is crisp. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Reserve 2 T. of the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven. Using a whisk, stir flour into bacon drippings. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually add chicken stock, whisking to prevent lumps until mixture thickens. Add potato, milk, parsley, basil, salt, garlic and pepper to chicken stock. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add cheese and green onion to soup, stirring until cheese melts and soup is heated through. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce. Crumble reserved cooked bacon. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the following optional toppings: crumbled bacon, cheese, sour cream, parsley. Makes 6 to 8 servings.