Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  2             medium  potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
  3        tablespoons  butter
  1                cup  white onion -- diced
  2        tablespoons  flour
  4               cups  chicken stock
  2               cups  water
     1/4           cup  cornstarch
  1 1/2           cups  instant mashed potatoes
  1           teaspoon  salt
     3/4      teaspoon  pepper
     1/2      teaspoon  basil
     1/8      teaspoon  thyme
  1                cup  half and half
                        GARNISH
     1/2           cup  cheddar cheese -- shredded
     1/4           cup  cooked bacon -- crumbled
  2                     green onions -- chopped (green part
                        only)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes or 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 sauté onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux. 3. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 4. 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. 5. Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick. 6. Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion. Repeat for remaining servings.

Nutritional Information:

255 Calories (kcal); 19g Total Fat; (67% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 49mg Cholesterol; 2082mg Sodium