Cattle Company'S Loaded Baked Potato Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
1/8 teaspoon basil
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 medium onion
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 lb potato, peeled, cooked, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
shredded cheddar cheese
crumbled cooked bacon (or bacon bits)
sour cream
chopped green onion

Preparation

In a saucepan, melt the butter and saute onion, but do not brown.Add the flour to make a roux, and cook and stir for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the chicken stock, instant potatoes, salt, basil, pepper and tabasco.
Gradually add to the roux mixture, stirring and bringing to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.
Add the diced potatoes to the soup, continue to simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring carefully without mashing the potatoes.
Add cream as desired for consistency.
Garnish: Top individual bowls of soup with cheese, bacon, sour cream and onions.