Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup (with bacon)

'Tis the season for soup. The weather is on the edge of being warm and cold during the day and night. Today was a day like this, especially after a long week vacation and just getting back from a two and a half hour drive. I needed some comfort food. Soup is a good way of regaining energy, fulfilling the hunger pains and warming the body up while using left over ingredients in your pantry.
I love potato soup and broccoli cheese sup. So why not combine them? I do use a short cut in this recipe but you can make it from scratch if you feel so inclined. I used the V8 garden broccoli soup for a base for this soup. They make great bases for soups if you wanted to serve more people and add your own flavors.

Ingredients:
5 russet potatoes
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup of bacon bits/pieces
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
Weber veggie grill seasoning
chicken bouillon cubes
1 box of v8 garden broccoli soup

Boil the potatoes after you cut them in little chunks and do the same with the broccoli. Boil for about 10 minutes.  Dump the soup into another pan and let it come to a simmer. Add the cooked potato and broccoli into the other pot with a spider strainer spoon or other utensil.

 Add in about a cup of milk and half a cup of water and add your seasonings. Add in your bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil then slow to a simmer for about an hour or more.

Towards the end of the cooking/heating process you can add bits of Velveeta cheese or any other type of cheese to it. Add your bacon pieces and simmer for another few minutes and you'll have a nice bowel of soup! Hearty, healthy, satisfying and delicious! You can also substitute the broccoli for carrot or cauliflower as well. This would be great to make in a crock pot!

Let me know how yours turn out and what you did differently! Just remember to taste as you go and layer those flavorings!