Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

With long class days on Mondays and Wednesdays, I have really come to rely on my slow cooker.  So is have been adding new recipes into my rotation with success.  This week I decided to try baked potato soup from the Crockin' Girls.

Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

from Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

6 Large Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Large Onion, diced
1 Quart Chicken Broth
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 Cup Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Cup Cream (Half and Half Okay)
1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Steps

1.  Combine all ingredients except for cream/ half and half, and cheese.
2.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours (potatoes should be tender).
3.  Then you will need to mash potatoes until coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened.
4.  Stir in cream and cheese. Garnish with toppings (bacon, chives, sour cream, cheese).

The Final Product
I apologize that I am lacking a picture.  The soup was good.  But I could tell that is was very different from usual baked potato soup.  First, it seemed to not be on the really creamy side.  It may be due to the fact that my 6 potatoes were not all large but I also used less chicken broth that specified (two 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth).  I also used about 8 oz of cubed velveeta cheese - next time I plan on using a mexican shred mix.  Give it a little more flavor that just cheddar.  At the end, since it lacked thickness, I put the slow cooker on high for another 15 - 30 minutes.  This helped a bit.  It turned out to be a good alternative to my usual baked potato soup.