Loaded Leek Bacon Potato Soup

Potato soup is one of my all-time favourites. I'm hooked on Tim Horton's Potato Bacon soup and have tried over a dozen recipes to try to duplicate it. Sadly I have never been happy with the results. But finally I have created a potato soup recipe that suits me perfectly. No it is not like Tim Horton's at all but I like it better!

I even cheat (rare for me to do) and use frozen hash browns and frozen diced onions when I am in a hurry. The recipe I've written out below is using those quick fixes which is why I'm labeling this as a "Busy Moms" recipe. If you have an Instant Pot (and you should have one in your kitchen!) this will be ready in 30 minutes. Serve it with a side salad and hot rolls and there's a quick, easy meal for your family.

 
Ingredients


* 4 cups diced uncooked potatoes or  frozen hash browns
* 2-3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth (21 oz) 10 oz (I did 1 1/2 c)
* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (you can also use cream of celery or cream of potato if you prefer)
* 1/3 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 c. diced leeks
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp marjoram
* 1/4 package (2 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
* 1/4 pound sliced bacon, sauteed slightly, then roughly diced
* Minced chives or green onions, optional




Method

Bacon sauteed and chopped, frozen onions ready for the pot

Saute the bacon slightly then rough dice it. Toss in your pot. Slice the leeks, cut into quarters lengthwise, wash thoroughly, then rough dice. Toss in the pot with the bacon. Now add everything else.

In the pot, ready to start cooking

After I add the cream soup, I put the chicken broth into it, starting with 2 cans. Then I add broth as needed to cover the ingredients (plus a bit more). You can see that in my instant pot the level of the soup comes up to about 6 cups

Instant Pot Directions

Use a 6 quart pot. Set to sealing, use manual pressure and set to 10 minutes. I like to natural release which allows the soup to keep cooking slightly. You can quick release instead but watch and if the soup starts to spatter out the vent, close it again and let it go to natural release

Slow Cooker Directions

You need a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours unless you are using raw potatoes then you will have to increase the cook time by about 2 hours.

Soup is done

Final Step

After soup is cooked, add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of 2% milk. Blend with Immersion blender or in blender. I like my Ninja blender - it's fast and does an amazing job of making a smooth mixture. When I bought mine several years ago it came with a mini-Ninja which is fantastic

Soup is blended, ready to add milk

Beautiful smooth soup!

Garnish with chopped chives or chopped green onions if you wish, and serve with rolls and a salad for a complete meal