Mmm... Tastes like childhood!

This recipe is childhood for me.  It's one of my favorite meals from when I would stay with my Grammie & Poppy, which was a lot.  My Mom & I lived with them until I was almost 4 years old & I spent as much time as I could with them growing up (escaping, more than visiting, I suppose).  I had lunch with them once a week until my Grammie passed away in 2001.  I kept it up with my Poppy until he got too busy.  Oh well, I hope I'm too busy when I'm 85!

Grammie's Potato & Dumpling Soup

10-12 medium-sized russet potatoes
2 cans chicken broth, plus 2-2 1/2 cans water
Sea salt & pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
1 lbs. bacon
1 1/4c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
Sea salt & pepper

Peel & cube 10-12 medium sized potatoes.  Add potatoes to pot, season with salt & pepper and add broth & water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat & simmer until potatoes are soft.  Meanwhile, cook 1 lbs. bacon.  Adding bacon drippings to potatoes, while simmering.  While bacon cooks, mix flour, salt & pepper, baking powder, eggs & a few drops of milk to form a dough.  Adding more flour, if the dough is too sticky.  When the potatoes are done scoop out about 1/2 to 3/4 of the potatoes & let cool slightly.  While the potatoes are cooling, drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the soup.  Blitz the cooled potatoes in a blender (I use the Magic Bullet) until smooth & stir back into soup.  Stir well & allow to simmer until heated through & dumplings are done (they'll rise to the top), about 10 minutes.

Top soup with cheese & crumbled bacon. (You won't need the full pound of bacon, but why cook twice?)