Potato Soup ( so flavorful with 'veggie water')

By only simmering the veggies until tender,

I had good 'veggie water' left to use with the milk.

So simple and quick to make--

and, tasty!

Serves: 6 (or just four, if serving hungry SOUP fans!)

INGREDIENTS:

Because I was planning to use the 'veggie water' IN the soup, I made sure vegetables were washed very well before preparing them.

• 8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed.
• 3 long carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" pieces.
• 2-3 large stalks of celery, sliced into 1/4" pieces.
• 1 large onion, diced.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups water, for cooking

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• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups 'veggie water' which will be drained/saved from cooking the above vegetables.
• 2 cups milk
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

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• 1/2 lb. bacon slices, fried to crisp and crumbled.
• Parsley (or dried parsley) to be used as garnishment.

DIRECTIONS:  

1. Peel and/or prepare potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.   Put all together into large pot and cover with the 4 cups of water.  Bring to boiling and then immediately lower heat to a simmer, cover, and let them cook only until they are 'tender'.
2. Drain water from veggies and save 3 cups of it.  Set aside.
3. In saucepan, melt butter.  Stir (or whisk) in the flour until mixture is very smooth.
4. Slowly add 3 cups of 'veggie water' and two cups of milk.  Whisk until very smooth.  Once it is smooth, I switch to a flat-edged spatula and stir constantly to keep any of this from burning on the bottom.  Heat to boiling and cook for a minimum of two minutes to prevent this sauce from having a 'raw flour' taste.
5. Pour this over the cooked (set aside) veggie mix, and stir gently.  Adjust seasonings to how you prefer.
6. When serving, add crumbled bacon pieces to each bowl of soup.   Also, parsley flakes for those who like that.