Potato Soup....in the Crock Pot

I haven't been feeling so well. I've also been super busy so my crock pot has come out in full force. I made potato soup today because I had some potatoes that needed to be used and an FRG (for my nonmilitary friends-group of spouses from my hubby's unit) function. So......I pulled out my favorite kitchen tool, the crock pot!

Here's to mamalovesfood.com for this Potato Soup recipe!

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 16 oz cream cheese (I used 8oz regular and 8oz lowfat)
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning (I use Aunt Cora's Soulful Seasoning)

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.

My substitutions: I used about 1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese. DO NOT USE FAT FREE! It won't melt! I also used my hand held blender and blended the soup in the crockpot. I would advise that this is when you also want to add the cream cheese so it blends well. I blended until my soup was about 1/2 liquid and then some small chunks of potatoes (think mashed potatoes consistency). I just topped ours with cheese.

It was great for this cold, rainy weather. I have some for leftovers today. It makes ALOT so make sure you have some friends and family to share this with or you will be eating for days!

Happy Eating! Enjoy!