Tony Roma’s Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup half and half

Garnish:
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 2 green onions, chopped (green part only)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked remove them from the oven to 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 stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.
3. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings.