Crockpot Potato Soup

After a stressful few weeks at work, I can happily say that this weekend was perfect (minus L not being here, of course;). I got to explore the city a bit, I got to relax, and I don't feel a single ounce of stress about going back to work tomorrow. Not sure where the shift in mindset came from, but it feels SO good! Perhaps it's just me being happy that L will be back in 4 days (ahhhhh!:), but overall, I think I'm just getting a better handle on things in general, and when you can have a relaxing, productive weekend like I did, it just helps give some peace of mind. I'll share a few photos from my early weekend adventures, and I'll end with a potato soup recipe I made on Saturday. Stay tuned for another post soon about my crazy adventures today of preparing six crockpot freezer meals! That kitchen of mine and I are gettin' reallllll close these days. I think L might start to get jealous!;)

 My coworker Megan (left) and her new fiance Ilsa! Out celebrating with them this weekend!

Met up with L's sisters and sister-in-law yesterday for breakfast, a museum, and lunch. We had such a great day! Some evidence of that includes this delicious hot cocoa from Bradbury's!

 And cinnamon and sugar crepes. Mmmmmm.

 Still love seeing the Capitol!

 Had to have a bloody to snap me out of my hangover from the aforementioned night out!;)

 In love with the mini chaser that came with my bloody!

 Don't judge us for all ordering drinks while L's niece Dahlia was in tow. ;)

And now onto the Crockpot Potato Soup! (Original recipe here.)

 The ingredients!

 Throw your big bag of square hashbrowns into the crockpot. (I use a 6qt crockpot.)

 Add in the onions.

 And the cream of chicken soup.

 And the pepper.

 And the broth! (Just an FYI: I added a little more broth than the recipe called for since I read in the comments that some people thought it was too thick.)

 After the soup cooks for about 5 hours, cube up your cream cheese and throw it in the crockpot!

 

 Add in the cheese as well. 

(Sorry I didn't take one once it was all cooked up in the crockpot. My bowl below is as good as it gets!)

Num num!!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag (30 oz.) hash browns (The square kind is recommended.)
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth (That comes out to a little less than 4 cups; I used 5 cups total to address the issue of it being too thick that came up in the recipe's comments. As it cooked, I worried that I had used too much because it was rather liquidy, but it sure thickened up in the fridge later!)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chopped onions - (As usual, I used the frozen diced kind.)
• 1/3 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

• Combine 1 bag frozen hash browns, 2 cans chicken broth (or however much you choose to use), 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup chopped onion, and 1/3 tsp black pepper.
• Cook in crockpot on medium for 4-5 hours. (I am still getting used to my crockpot, and I only have 'low' and 'high' options, so this timing didn't quite work for me. After 4 hours on low, nothing was really mixing together, so I put the last hour on high.)
• Stir in cream cheese and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I had an issue with the cream cheese not melting that well, so there were little small chunks of cream cheese still in there after an hour longer on high. Once I whisked it and got them mostly taken care of, I gave it a shot and it was pretty delicious.)
• Top with cheese, green onion, and bacon crumbles (optional).