Foodie Friday - Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

Today's recipe was one I found on Pinterest.  I have to warn you, if you haven't discovered Pinterest already, it is dangerous.  The first day I pinned a few things I thought ......"This is it?" 

THEN, I thought of all the things I could have virtual bulletin boards about - things I love like baskets, bassets, flowers, animals, things that remind me of my parents, handbags, things that make me laugh, provoking thoughts and sayings, things I want to do, yellow (yes I have a whole bulletin board of nothing but yellow things!), favorite spots in Duluth, and of course, last but certainly not least - food.  I found a saying on Pinterest that goes something like this "Do not reward yourself with food, you are not a dog."  So my Pinterest board with recipes I want to try is named "I am Not A Dog."  

With flurries in the air last weekend and trying to have some down time, I thought it would be a perfect time to make this soup,  and I have to say it was a winner!  Here's the scoop on the soup:

Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

1 bag (32 oz) frozen southern-style diced hash brown potatoes (make sure diced, not shredded) - thawed

1/2 c. frozen chopped onion, thawed

1 medium stalk of celery, diced (1/2 c.)

1 carton (32-oz) chicken broth

1 cup water

3 T. flour

1 cup milk

8 oz. shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend

1/4 c. real bacon pieces

4 medium green onions, sliced

In 3-4 quart slow cooker mix potatoes, onion, celery, broth and water.

Cover.  Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.

After the 6-8 hours, in a small bowl mix the flour into the milk;  stir into the potato mixture.  Increase the heat setting to High.  Cover and cook 20-30 minutes longer, or until mixture thickens. 

Then stir in cheese until melted.  Garnish individual servings with bacon and green onions.  Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

And the final result looks like this:

This is definitely a recipe I will make again.  It is easy to make and tastes great!  While I found the recipe on Pinterest, it originally came from www.bettycrocker.com. 

Here's how I modified this recipe:

*The recipe calls for thawed hashbrowns and onions - I just put them in the crockpot right from  the freezer (it's called laziness).

*For the bacon, I used real jarred bacon pieces (again - laziness).

*The recipe called for green onions as garnish, which I didn't add as I put a little extra chopped frozen onion in the soup than what it originally called for.

Divided into 6 servings here's the nutritional information.  Calories:  410, Total Fat 15 g, Cholesterol 45 mg, Sodium 1210 mg, Total Carbs 50 g, Protein 19 g.  Percent of Daily Value:  Vitamin A 10%, Vitamin C 15%, Calcium 25%, and Iron 10%. 

The sodium is approximately half the daily amount recommended for an average adult.  Anytime we have something higher in sodium we just try to watch our sodium the rest of the day.

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!  It's definitely a  breeze to make and for those colder days it just hit the spot!

Happy Friday!