Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup

This is what's on our menu tonight. Perfect for this "Arctic blast" that came through and for my sick hubby.



* 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
* 3 T butter
* 1 cup diced white onion
* 2 T flour
* 4 c chicken broth
* 2 cups water
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
* 1 t salt
* 3/4 t pepper
* 1/2 t basil
* 1/8 t thyme
* 1 cup half and half (I always use 1% milk)


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked, remove them from the oven to cool.
2. As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and saute onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.
3. Add the stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. 4. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.
6. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.
7. Spoon soup into a bowl and top with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon and chopped green onion.