Super Easy, Really Tasty Crockpot Country Potato Soup

So, I LOVE McAlister's Deli.  I especially love their Country Potato Soup, and crave it all the time.  However, the nearest McAlister's is at least an hour away, and they don't serve the Country Potato on a regular basis (they do a "Soup of the Day" deal).  So I set out to find an easy recipe that I'd enjoy just as much, and hit paydirt today.

First of all, I found a couple different recipes, and took the aspects that I liked and then added a couple things of my own (ham, grated carrots, for instance), and left out things I didn't like (fresh onions...they kill me since I've lost my gallbladder).  So this is what I ended up with, and it was a huge hit with the family, and I finally found a homemade soup that *I* like as well.

Ingredients:
3 pound bag of red potatoes
23 ounce container of chicken broth
salt and pepper
dried, minced onions
2 cups Half and Half
baby carrots
diced or cubed ham (like you use on salads)
3-4 slices cooked bacon
grated cheddar cheese

First, spray the inside of your crockpot with non-stick spray.  I prefer this to "lightly greasing" it with shortening.  Use a nice even coating...the potatoes tend to stick as they cook.

Wash, peel, and cube the entire bag of red potatoes.  Put them into the crockpot.

Liberally sprinkle with the dried, minced onions.  The recipe called for 1/2 cup chopped onion, however, as previously mentioned, I can't use fresh onion, so I used minced, but I didn't measure it...simply made a nice layer of them over the cubed potatoes.

Salt and pepper according to your taste.  I'd never tried it before, but I salted/peppered it about like I would any dish.

Pour in entire container of chicken broth (all 23 ounces).  It won't quite cover the potatoes, but it will come close.

Cover, cook on low heat for eight hours.

After eight hours, use a potato masher to mash up the ingredients.  This is entirely your preference here...I like small chunks in mine, so I didn't mash it completely smooth, but it was close.

Add the 2 cups of Half and Half, stir well.

At this point, I added the diced ham and finely-grated baby carrots because I thought it might taste good.  I used three "handfuls" of ham and 3-4 big baby carrots.

Cover, and continue heating until its nice and hot again.

Garnish with preferred toppings.  I used crumbled bacon and grated cheddar cheese.

This will serve 5-7 depending on the appetites involved.  Its SUPER easy and was really tasty too!