Vegetarian Baked Potato Soup

Nancy was looking for some vegetarian recipes. This one isn't usually, but cousin Judith was over for Conference yesterday and I wanted to make the meal vegetarian for her. Even the missionaries who were over liked it.

	Vegetarian Baked Potato Soup
	Servings 8 Prep. time (min) 20 Cooking time (min) 60
Category	Soup
Ingredients	4 potatoes, large 2/3 cup butter, divided 2 cups white beans, pureed in blender with water 6 cups milk 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 2/3 cup flour 4 green onions, chopped 8 oz. sour cream
Preparation	Bake potatoes at 400 degrees for one hour. Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out and reserve pulp. Melt butter over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, one minute. Gradually add milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in potatoes, salt, pepper, one cup cheese, white bean puree, and 2 T. green onions. Cook until heated (do not boil). Stir in sour cream. Cook until just heated (do not boil). Serve with remaning cheese and green onions. Yield: 2 1/2 quarts
Note:

Inserted from <http://192.168.0.5:8080/ShowRecipe.html?IDRec=12>

Of course you can make this soup "unvegetarian" by putting in a cup of chopped ham and garnishing with two slices of bacon cooked and torn into pieces. But I don't even know if it needs that anymore.

Just a note on using beans in cooking. I find it easiest to take one day as "bean cooking day" and do three separate pots with white beans in one, black beans in another, and pinto beans in the third. You have to think ahead and put the beans to soak the night before or do the quick soak where you get them to a boil and let them sit for an hour before actually cooking them. Then I put them in one or two cup portions and freeze them. The white beans are handy to puree and hide in foods like soups, alfredos, and other saucy white things. The black beans are good in most all Mexican dishes, and the pinto beans can be turned into refried beans.