Loaded Baked Potato Soup

There is a reason my family calls me CaitoPotato: I love potatoes.  So when Nate and I were craving a little comfort food the other day, my head jumped straight to a creamy, soupy potato concoction.  I had never made potato soup, so I set out to find a yummy recipe.

I wasn't thrilled with any of the recipes I found on Pinterest.  They all looked tasty, but I was either missing key ingredients, or I disagreed with the methodology.  I might have some strong preferences as to how things should be cooked...  I broadened my search and found this recipe on CDKitchen.com.  Of course, I made it my own.  Here is the recipe as I adapted it!

Ingredients:
6 large baking potatoes, peeled & cut in 1/2-inch cubes (I used the 6 largest Yukon Gold I had, plus 2 smaller)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 slices uncooked bacon, chopped
1 quart chicken broth
1 tsp minced (jarred) garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (optional)
8 slices bacon, fried & crumbled
cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:
Combine first seven ingredients in a large crockpot; cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours (potato should be tender).

Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in sour cream, cheese and chives.  <-- I used my immersion blender for this part!  So much fun!

Top with bacon, chives and more cheese.

This was super easy, and very delicious.  I didn't have any chives and the soup was still great.  I hope to add them next time!