Perfect for this cold weather streak we're having!

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It’s one of the first recipes I ever grabbed off of the internet, probably 10-15 years ago. I have a paper copy, printed on a trusty ink-jet printer, back in the day. And it’s tattered, stained and the ink is smeared in some places where it got wet. So I figured that in addition to making it tomorrow, I’m going to immortalize it here in case I ever lose the recipe. Because I’ve searched and can’t find it online anymore!

Acme has a deal right now where if you buy 3lbs or more of select pork & beef products, you get a free bag of potatoes, onions AND carrots. So this is a super frugal recipe for me, since most of my ingredients were free. It does require that you make a roux prior to putting it in the crock pot, but don’t let that scare you off. This is actually the recipe that introduced me to that skill–and if I can do it, so can you.

It also requires “chicken soup base” which can be difficult to find. It’s like a condensed broth, look for it near the broth. Acme doesn’t carry it, so I’m going to use the new Knorr stuff. It should work very similarly.

What I also like about this recipe is that the creaminess comes from pulling out some of the soup mixture, pureeing it, and putting it back in to thicken the soup. This means that you’re saving fat calories instead of adding some type of cream product.

 It does NOT freeze well, in my opinion. Which is common with potato based stuff.

Creamy potato soup in the slow cooker
1/4 cup butter
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups water
2 large carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons chicken soup base (I’m using the Knorr stuff)
1 cup warm water
5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 bay leaf
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled; I’ve also purchased the Oscar Mayer bits to save time.

Directions
~Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until translucent. Stir in flour until smooth and let it brown just a bit to make a roux.

~Gradually stir in 2 cups water, carrots, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper. Heat through, then stir in milk. Dissolve chicken base in 1 cup warm water, and pour into vegetable mixture.

~Place potatoes in slow cooker, and pour heated vegetable mixture into potatoes. Place bay leaf in pot.

~Cover and cook 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

~Remove bay leaf. Puree about 4 cups of the soup in a blender or food processor, and then stir pureed soup into contents of slow cooker. Stir in cheese and bacon until cheese is melted. Top with whatever toppings you wish. I use chives, bacon bits and cheddar.

I entered this soup in a crock pot recipe contest, check it out.