Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This soup might change your life.  It is delicious and nutritious worth the calories and EASY.  Here my recipe, which is adapted from a similar recipe on food.com.

Put this stuff in your crock pot:

• Peel and dice at least 6 russet potatoes.  6 if they're large, more if they're not.
• Chop 1 big yellow onion.  5 bucks if you don't shed a tear!
• 1 quart chicken broth - I like Rachael Ray's chicken stock.
• Mince some garlic cloves - depending on how much you like!  I used...5.  (insert sheepish grin)
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into chunks.
• A handful of bacon crumbles
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Turn your crock pot to HIGH and cook for about 4 hours, or LOW for about 8 hours.

When time's up, the potatoes should be tender.  If you are daring, use a hand mixer to "mash" the potato mixture in the crock pot.  If you are not daring, like me, ladle the cooked potato mixture into a blender and blend until it is less chunky and more soupy.

Let the soup cool a bit, so the following ingredients don't curdle up.  Then, add:

• 1 cup of half and half
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• (optional) 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Mix it all together, and serve out of your crock pot.  I set mine to WARM.

Top with sour cream and crumbled bacon!