Baked Potato and Corn Chowder

Hi everyone!
I was inspired to make this recipe from the lovely ladies at Crockpot Girls, I have been working on a potato soup recipe for awhile, but never had the chance or the forethought to make it, and seeing the recipe gave me just the inspiration I needed :).

It was pretty simple to make and did not cost very much per serving at all it made most of a 4 quart Slow Cooker full of soup and broke down to about $3.00 a quart, I would say in our a house a quart is about 2.5 servings or so, if the kiddos are eating it, a quart makes about 4 to 5 servings, so it breaks down to a $1.50 or less per serving, add bread and it comes to about $2.00 a serving.

My Husband said it was better than Paneras, and obviously far less expensive, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

5 pounds russet potatoes
1 quart Chicken Stock
1 stick of butter
1 whole onion Diced
5 to 6 cloves of Crushed garlic
1 Pint Heavy whipping Cream or 2 half pints if they are less expensive, which was the case when I bought them
1 Package of Bacon Bits (I used Oscar Mayer)
1 2 cup Package of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Can of Corn (drained)
Dill, Parsley, Salt, and Pepper to taste

Dice Potatoes after washing them, leaving the skins on, Layer these with the onions so they are evenly distributed.  Sprinkle Dill, Parsley, salt and pepper over the top, and pour in the Chicken broth, Stir to make sure the spices are distributed, cover and let cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours or until Potatoes are tender, I kicked it up to high for about 2 hours to speed up the process a little, and then turned it back down.  Once potatoes are tender, Use a potato masher and break them down to your desired thickness, we always leave chunks in our mashed potatoes so I did the same for these.  Pour in cream, cut butter into chunks and add in, stir until butter is melted, Add in Bacon bits, Cheese and Corn and stir until evenly distributed and let cook.  Once all the ingredients are added you can serve it about 10 to 15 minutes later, but I covered it and let it cook on low for another 2 hours to let the flavors develop.  So I would recommend doing this if you can.

Serve with bacon, chives, sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar on top, and a good crusty bread for dipping.

Till Next Time,