Slow Cooker Potato Soup

 This is one of our families favorite soups and it is so easy!  Now that the weather is getting colder, it is soup time again.  

Ingredients

1.   1/2 large onion, diced
2.   2 cloves of garlic, minced
3.   32 ounces of chicken stock (I use low sodium)
4.   1 30 ounce bag of frozen shredded hash browns
5.   3 Tbs. of butter
6.   1 Tbs. of flour (we use gluten free)
7.   1 cup of water
8.   1 cup of milk of your choice 
9.   1/4 tsp salt
10. 1/2 tsp of pepper (I don't measure this, I just added it to taste)
11. 1/2 Tbs. of onion powder
12. 1 Tbs. of dried parsley
13. 1/3 of a block of cream cheese, cut into cubes

Toppings:
Shredded cheddar, diced green onion, chives, bacon bits

Directions:

1.  In a small pan on the stove, or directly in your slow cooker, melt the butter.  Once the butter is melted, add in the onion and sauté until slightly softened, approximately 3-4 minutes.
2.  Add in the garlic and sauté  another minute, careful that the garlic doesn't burn.
3.  Add in the 1 Tbs. of flour and sauté   for another minutes.  Remove from heat or turn off the multi-cooker.
4.  Add in the broth, hash browns,  water, milk, and seasonings.  Stir to combine. Add the cubed cream cheese to the top. 
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

A lot of recipes don't add the cream cheese in during the cooking time, but wait until the soup is done,  You can do that, but I have not had any issues cooking it all at the same time.

Serve with you favorite toppings and enjoy.

Comfort Food!