Baked Potato Soup

10 bacon strips, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt (omit if chicken broth is salty)
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper
6 cups chicken broth
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used raw and just cooked it longer)
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp.  Drain, reserving 2 Tbsp drippings.  Set bacon aside.  Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender.  Stir in flour, salt, basil, and pepper; mix well.  Gradually add broth.  Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes, cream, and hot pepper sauce.  Heat through, but do not boil. 

(An alternate method that I tried was to throw everything except the garnishes into a crock pot and let it cook all day.  This still made a great soup, but I found it didn't thicken up in the crock pot.  I just poured the soup into a large pan just before serving and brought to a boil for several minutes to thicken up the soup.)

Garnish with bacon, cheese, and parsley.