Bacon and Potato Soup

This soup was everything I had hoped it would be...and more!  It is that wonderful, hearty winter fill on a cold night.  Like always, I follow the recipe but look for ways to save time, here's how I do it on this one -- I dice, or chop really, the bacon BEFORE I cook it, and I buy the shredded carrots in a bag and use my hand chopper to make them small bite-size pieces.  I use my hand chopper for onion as well, because I hate chopping onions, and I like every bite to be proportionate.