CrockPot Baked Potato Soup

My friend, Lori, over at mykindarain.com has been raving about this baked potato soup for years. For whatever reason, it's taken me until this week to actually make it. Man, I didn't even know what I was missing! This is such a simple soup, but it's exactly what the weather calls for: warm, filling and tasty.

The original recipe is as follows:

8 cups coarsely chopped peeled potatoes
1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)
1/2 pound bacon, crisped, drained, and crumbled
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 cans (14.5 oz) each reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 tsp. pepper

My vegetarian modifications were to use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth, omit the bacon and to use cream of cheese (or mushroom) soup instead of the cream of chicken soup.

Just throw all of the ingredients together in your CrockPot, mix well to combine and cook either on slow for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. I served this up with a generous helping of cheese, chopped chives and a spoonful of sour cream, but you could also add bacon and butter if that's your thing. Oh and definitely don't forget a crusty baguette for dipping.

Making this soup has rekindled my love of the CrockPot. There is something so wonderful about coming home and finding dinner ready, not to mention having a great smelling house. So the next time that you want something warm and tasty waiting for you at home, give this recipe a whirl.