Baked Potato Soup

I seriously love this soup. It is SOOooo yummy. Your kids will gobble it up. I make it when it's 3 or 4 in the afternoon I don't have any meat thawed for supper and I don't know what to make for dinner! Just throw some potatoes in the oven and the rest of the ingredients are what I usually have in the fridge. With a salad or fresh veggies on the side and you have a great meal.

Baked Potato Soup

3/4 cup butter
3/4 sup chopped onion
3/4 cup flour
2 (1 L) boxes of chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
8 baked potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp basil
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onions
1pkg (about) crumbled, cooked bacon (i sometimes just used the packaged bacon from costco)
sour cream (optional)

Melt butter, fry onions until clear and add flour and mix till thickened. Over heat, add chicken broth slowly until smooth and creamy. Slowly add evaporated milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 tsp basil, it gives really good flavour). Scoop out 3 - 4 potatoes and mash. Then add to the cream broth mixture. (I took my Braun hand blender and whipped it up to smooth out the potatoes.) Take the rest of the potatoes and remove skins (I left some of the skin on.) Chop into large chunks and add to the soup.

To Serve: Place a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits and green onion on top of each serving.

Serves about 10-12 people.