Baked Potato Soup

2 1/2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, to add at the end
crumbled bacon and green onion or chives as garnish (optional)

Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the crock pot. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. The potatoes should be fork-tender. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup, or a hand-held immersible blender. )i just dumped into my blender. Maddy broke my hand blender several months ago)I suppose you can also leave the potatoes in chunks, if you really wanted, but I wanted a smooth soup.

After smashing the potatoes, crumble in package of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or chives, and I'd assume cheddar cheese would be just delightful.