Creamy, Cheesy Potato Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 -4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1 inch cubes
3 cups water
1 small onion, diced fine (or 2 tsp granulated onion)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chicken broth
4 -5 slices bacon, crumbled (or 1 cup of diced leftover ham)

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Add potato cubes and stir to make sure they are just covered with water.
Cook potatoes until fork tender, maybe 10 minutes.
Drain potatoes and set aside.
In a large pot melt butter over medium heat and stir in onion. If using real onion cook until just translucent.
Stir in the flour and cook stirring constantly for at least a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste. (If you've never worked with roux it will look like a really thick paste at this point. That's great- keep stirring :) ).
Add red pepper flakes and salt & pepper.
Slowly add the 1 cup of broth stirring as you pour it into the roux. Stir until smooth.
Start adding the milk and cream and stir until smooth.
Bring the mixture up to a low simmer stirring constantly. Simmer 2-3 minutes.
Add the sugar and the shredded cheese.
Stir until cheese is melted.
Stir in Bacon or Ham and potatoes and cook for 1 minute to heat potatoes thru.