Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

My family adores potato soup. I have prepared it the same way for years - dicing potatoes and onions, boiling them until done, adding spices, herbs and milk...you get the picture. Then I found a similar recipe to mine that was cooked in the crockpot. And instead of dicing up potatoes, this recipe said to use frozen hash browns - the Southern style, not shredded.

It was like the clouds suddenly parted and the sunshine peeked through! Why hadn't I ever thought of that before? It cut the prep time for this recipe down to a few minutes - basically just adding ingredients to the crockpot and turning it on. With cooler weather approaching, you're going to want to make this incredibly easy, delicious soup.

Here's what you need:

1 pkg (30 oz) Southern-style frozen hash browns - not O'Brien, just plain
4 cups chicken broth (this is one large carton or 32 oz)
1 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 teas onion powder
1 teas garlic powder
1 teas salt
1/4 teas black pepper
4 oz cream cheese, cubed

Dump the frozen hash browns into the crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients except the cream cheese. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. During the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add the cubed cream cheese and stir for a few minutes to melt and blend into the soup.

Add your favorite toppings such as bacon bits, shredded cheese or green onions. Or all of the above! The Princess chose green onions, Mr. Lego just wanted a little bacon. I added everything, like a loaded baked potato. And the next day they cheered when I warmed up leftovers. That's how simple and yummy this soup is.