Baked Potato Soup

A delicious version of my favourite soup at Tony Roma's
















BAKED POTATO SOUP
3-4 med potatoes (baked) (3-4 cups chopped)
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup white onion, diced
2 Tbsp flour
4 cups chicken stock (I like to use my homemade chicken soup broth)
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
1 cup half-and-half cream

Garnish
shredded cheese
crumbled cooked bacon
chopped onion greens

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for one hour or until done. Cool.
As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan and saute onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.
Add chicken stock, water, mashed potatoes and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin or put aside to make baked potato skins (different post)
Chop baked potato into 1/2-inch sized cubes. Add potatoes and half-and-half to the soup and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer another 15 minutes or until thick.

To serve, spoon soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheese, and about teaspoon each of bacon bits and onion greens.
The only other touch I may add is seasoned croutons!

ENJOY!!!