Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

5 Whole Garlic Heads

2 Bacon slices -- diced

1 c Onion -- diced

1 c Carrot -- diced

2 Garlic cloves -- minced

6 c Baking Potato -- diced

-above aprox 2 pounds 4 c Chicken broth -- low salt

1/2 ts Salt

1/4 ts Pepper

1 Bay Leaf

1 c 2% low-fat milk

1/4 c Parsley -- fresh chopped

Notes: Thickened by mashed potatoes, this rich soup gets its hearty, smoky flavor from the addition of bacon and garlic. Remove white papery skin from each garlic head (do not peel or separate cloves). Wrap each head separately in aluminum foil. Bake at 350F degrees for 1 hour; let cool for 10 minutes. Separate cloves, and

squeeze to extract 1/4 cup of garlic pulp; discard the skins. Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Add onion, carrot, and minced garlic, and saute 5 minutes. Add potato, broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender; remove bay leaf. Combine garlic pulp and 2 cups potato mixture in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return puree to pan; stir in milk, and cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley.