Potato Heaven

If you couldn't tell by February's theme, I am an avid soup-lover. And here's another bit of not-so-secret information: I haven't met a potato I didn't like. So, what better way to honor two of my favorite foods than by combining then?

Back in the day, whenever friends and I went to Bennigan's I always got a cup of their cream of potato soup. I loved that they topped it with crumbled bacon. But the Bennigan's that was in the area I grew up in closed years ago, and there's not one anywhere in the state of Pennsylvania. What's a girl to do?

Find a recipe and make it at home, but of course!

There's no shortage of potato soup recipes on the Internet. It's the cooking method that makes this recipe my favorite, though. Using the crock-pot frees me to do whatever I feel like. As much as I love to cook, sometimes it's nice not to be tied to the kitchen.

Cream Cheese Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 to 2-inch cubes
  
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
  
• 2 quarts chicken broth
  
• 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, cubed
  
• Optional garnishes: Crumbled bacon, green onions, chives, shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Use a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice 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 hours. The potatoes should be fork-tender. Use a potato masher or a hand-held immersion blender to mash the potatoes into the soup.
   
2. Add cubed cream cheese to the potato mixture and put the lid back on. Cook on HIGH, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved.
   
3. Serve with the garnish of your choice.