Baked Potato Soup

I was asked particularly for this recipe and I hope that anyone who tries it enjoys it as much as we do! I must apologize that there is no picture to go with this recipe. I made the most perfect bowl and it's picture was taken for the E.C. Link but then I myself forgot to take a picture. Oh yes, Thanks to some of my amazing friends I will be featured in the upcoming edition of the E.C. Link for the "Southern Spice" article! But the pretty bowl of soup well..... it was inhaled by my brother before I sat down to eat my first bowl!! So lets get down to the recipe!

 10 -12 good size potatoes washed and sliced in half ( hot dog style...long ways)
salt
pepper
olive oil
1/2 cup of water
bacon grease
1/4 cup of flour
1 cup of whipping cream
3 cans of chicken broth
1 onion diced
1 package of bacon fried and grease reserved
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 8oz container of Dairy Fresh sour cream ( you can use another but look for a high milkfat content or it will curdle when added to the soup which will taste the same but not look as pretty)
diced green onion
small cubed sharp cheddar

heat oven to 375 degrees and then on a rimmed cookie sheet i place the halved potatoes sliced side down. salt them really well ( like to use the big grains of kosher salt) then put olive oil all over the tops of them. Place in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. pull from oven and pour the water in the pan and kinda give the potatoes and little shake. Set the potatoes back in the oven (that is now turned off) and let them sit for an hour or so. They will actually absorb the water making them even softer and more flavorful.  Once cooled pull potatos from oven and spoon out the insides into a big pot. I take a fork and kinda mash the bigger pieces but otherwise i like the variation in the chunks of potato. Pour in the chicken broth and the whipping cream and put the pot on what i call a simmer. Add a bit of pepper. You do not want this to boil....you only want to warm it. Now in the pan you fried the bacon in you need to drain all but about 1/4 C of grease maybe a little more ( the more the merrier)  and put in your onions and garlic and let cook till translucent. Then add your flour to this pan and let the flour soak up the bacon grease and coat the onions. when the flour has soaked up the grease add to the potato soup mixture in the big pot and stir....you notice the mixture starting to get thicker.  Stir in your sour cream. let this soup simmer and get happy for about 30 min. but do not let it boil...you just want it to get hot and stay hot.
now you have some time to chop up your green onions and cube your sharp cheese and crumble your bacon and have it ready to go.
now dip up a bowl of this creamy rich soup and top with green onion, cheese and bacon! Enjoy it!