Loaded Potato Soup

As usual, life for us has been pretty hectic. Ryan's grandmother has been pretty sick so we have been in and out of the hospital spending many hours visiting with her.  As a result, I have been relying heavily on meals that can be made in a crock-pot so that when we left the hospital after visiting for most of the day, we have a hot and ready meal waiting for us at home instead of having to hit the drive through of a fast food restaurant.
 Since we have had so many below freezing days, this is the perfect soup weather.  One of my favorite soups to play around with making is potato soup.  I think I finally perfected my recipe for it and will claim that it rivals the potato soup that is served at many restaurants. This particular recipe makes enough for Ryan and I to eat it for at least 2 meals (I think Ryan ate it for a snack as well one day).
To make this soup I used 2.5 lbs of red potatoes, one 32 oz chicken broth, one can cream of chicken soup, one block of cream cheese, 2 cups cheddar cheese, 1 pack bacon bits, half a packet of ranch dressing powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Dice the red potatoes and put them in a crock-pot that has been sprayed with cooking oil.

Add the chicken broth, soup, seasonings, and then top with the cream cheese. Let it cook on low for 5-6 hours.

After soup has cooked for 5-6 hours, spoon half of the potatoes out of the soup and into a food processor.  Finely puree the potatoes and stir them back into the soup...This will help thicken the soup up. Add the bacon bits and the 2 cups of cheese and stir. Let cook for 1-2 more hours and enjoy!

 

 Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs red potatoes
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 block cream cheese
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 pack of bacon bits
• 1/2 packet dry ranch powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powser
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and dice the red potatoes, then place them into a crock-pot sprayed with cooking oil.
2. Add the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup,  and seasonings to crock-pot, then top with the cream cheese. Allow to cook on low for 5-6 hours.
3. After 5-6 hours, spoon half of the potatoes out of crock-pot and into a food processor.  Puree the potatoes, and return them to the crock-pot, stirring the potato puree into the soup to mix it in.
4. Add the cheddar cheese and bacon bits and let cook for 1-2 more hours, stirring occasionally. 
5. Enjoy!