Carrie and Joe's Favorite Cheese Soup (from Calamity Cafe)

photo credit: Nataraj Metz via photopin cc Ingredients
Amount	Ingredients
2 qt	Half-n-half or heavy whipping cream
2 sticks	Butter
2/3 cup	Flour
2-3 lbs	Shredded cheddar (either all yellow or part white)
1/4 lb	fresh fried bacon, crumbled
1 cup	Croutons (soaked in melted butter)
	Paprika (to taste)
	Onion Powder (to taste)
	Garlic Powder (to taste)
	Garlic Powder (to taste)
	White pepper (to taste)
Directions
Heat half-n-half to just below boiling (DO NOT BOIL!) In a separate pan, melt 1 stick of butter and add the flour flour, do not allow to brown or scorch. Add flour-butter mixture (roux) to heated half-n-half, stir over medium heat, it is now safe to allow to slow boil if you must, let simmer while you stir frequently until it starts to thicken until it coats the spoon rather than runs off. Add handfuls of cheddar while stirring, will vary in colour and consistency depending on the dryness of the cheddar. Sharp cheddar, which is pretty damned dry, may be stringy in consistency when melted, so I don't recommend it.  If the soup seems a bit bland, hit it with a dash of white pepper or maybe put in a heaping tablespoon of grated parmasean or some other sharp cheese, don't cook it, just stir it in so it gets spread around fairly well. Melt the second stick of butter, add some garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to get it good and orange, drop in the croutons, toast up in a medium oven. When the soup is something like a gravy in consistency, serve into bowls, top with bacon crumbles and butter-logged croutons, sprinkle with paprika, tah-dah, done.