Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup

Tony Roma’s Baked Potato Soup

2 medium potatoes
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup diced white onion
2 Tbsp flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
1 cup half and half


Garnish:
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
2 green onions, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the potatoes one hour or till done. Remove from oven to cool.

As potatoes cool, prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan and sauté onion till light brown. Add the flour to the onions. Stir to make a roux.

Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes and spices to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Cut potatoes in 1/2 lengthwise. Scoop out contents with large spoon. Chop baked potato with large knife to make chunks about ½ inch in size.

Add chopped potato and half and half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer soup for another 15 minutes or till thick. Serve in bowl and top with cheese bacon and onion. Great in bread bowls.

(ok, ok... i probably ruin this soup because I don't do everything properly.   I boil the potatoes (it's faster). I also like to add carrots and celery occasionally just to add variety.  Oh, and since I rarely have half-n-half and I'm not a huge fan of cream, I use milk.  I know, I'm sorry if I ruined the best parts of this soup!  But we still love it!)