Potato Chowder

I don't have a picture of this tasty cold weather chowder. So....when I make it again - I will be sure to take one to post. This recipe comes from Ellie at http://thisismydisease.com/ . She sent this recipe with some other ones to try. So far - this is the first. It's a very versatile recipe. I will post what she does and what I did. She likes to put hers in a crockpot.

Potato Chowder
3/4 bag frozen o'brien potatoes (I used mashed potatoes since I had a bunch that needed to be used)
1/4 cup onions, finely chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken broth (I used my homecanned chicken stock)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 tsp black pepper or to taste (I would use less then add more later)
1/2 tsp cayenne or to taste (I would use less then add more later)
2/3 tsp sea salt (I used regular as I don't have sea salt)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp hot sauce (I opted out on this one)
1/3 bag carrots, shredded (I used frozen carrots I ran through the mini processor - about 1 cup)
6 oz cream cheese, cubed and at room temp. (I used the whole 8 oz brick)
1/3 cup sour cream
12 oz broccoli florettes, steamed in bag (I used fresh and chopped them up)
4 oz cooked bacon (I love bacon so used more than 4 oz) :)

Sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives for garnish

Place first 10 ingredients in a 6 quart crock pot. Set temperature to low for crockpot and cook for 4 hours. Increase temperature to high and add carrots. Cook 2 hours. Remove as many of the solid potatoes as you want. Mash and return to crockpot with cream cheese and sour cream. Reduce temperature to low. Cook for 1 hour. Steam broccoli according to package directions. Add broccoli and bacon. Cook for 1 hour on low. Serve with sour cream, cheese and chives.

**I combined everything in a large Dutch oven and simmered until heated through. Certainly very tasty. The kids like dunking french bread in their soups/chowders and this one was no exception!