Baked Potato Soup in the Crockpot

I have an ongoing love affair with my crockpot.  I love how I can put something in before going off to work and when we get home, dinner!  It also is fab that there is only one pot to clean. (love that!)

I found what has turned out to be one of our favorite soups to make in the crockpot on one of my favorite slow cooker blogs, A Year of Slow Cooking, Baked Potato Soup.  It is so good and even better, so easy.  We usually make a batch every couple of months all year round.  It is that good.  It makes a big batch but freezes well, just give it a good stir after thawing.

Baked Potato Soup in the Crockpot (Source: A Year of Slow Cooking)

Ingredients

• 5 lbs potatoes, cut into 1 to 2-inch chunks
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Smokey seasoned salt
• 2 teaspoons Northwoods Fire seasoning
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red pepper
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 2 (8-ounce) packages low-fat cream cheese cut into chunks, to add at the end
• Crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese and/or green onion or chives for garnish

Directions

• Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
• Cut up the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware.
• Add onion and garlic.
• Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth.
• Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4.
• The potatoes should be fork-tender.
• Use a hand-held immersible blender to puree everything very smoooth.
• After pureeing the potatoes, put the chunks of cream cheese, and put the lid back on.
• Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved.
• Give it a few more pulses with the hand-held blender after 15 minutes and again before serving.
• Garnish with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, green onion or chives. 

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