Winter soup

This past winter has been especially cold with more snow than I ever could have imagined. There is nothing like hot soup on a cold winter's day so all winter long we've consumed soup by the gallon. This has been one of our favorites this winter. It's a tasty that I thought was worth sharing.

Baked Potato Soup
6-8 servings

2 med. potatoes
3 Tbsp butter
2 c. half and half
1 c. onion
1/2 c. pre-cooked & crumbled bacon
1 container mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp flour
4 c. chicken stock
2 c. water
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 c. instant mashed potatoes
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp basil
pinch thyme

Opt. Garnish:
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
green onions, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until done. When the potatoes have cooked, remove them from the oven to cool.

As potatoes cook, prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan and saute onion and mushroom until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and mushrooms and stir to make a roux. (Sometimes I have to add more butter.)

Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 min.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potatoes to make chunks 1/2'' in size. Add chopped potato, half and half, and bacon to the saucepan. Simmer 15 minutes or until thickened.