Baked Potato Soup

By nperry1006

Ingredients

• Garnish:
• 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/8 tsp thyme
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 2 green onions, chopped (green part only)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for one hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked, remove them from the oven to cool.
As potatoes cool, prepare soup by melting butter in large saucepan, and saute onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.

Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with large spoon. Discard the skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about ½ inch in size.

Add chopped baked potato and half and half to the saucepan, bring soup back
to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.

Spoon about 1½ cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion.
Repeat for remaining servings.