Rinse the potato. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potato directly on the rack for 1 hour or until done. Remove it from the oven to cool.
While the potato is cooking prepare the garnishes by cooking and crumbling the bacon, shredding the cheese, and chopping the green onion. Set aside until ready to serve. Continue to the next step.
Prepare the soup by melting the butter in a large saucepan, over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux. Add the potato flakes then slowly add the stock constantly stirring, watch as it thickens being careful to remove lumps if they develop. Add the spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Once the potato has cooled, cut the potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the contents with a large spoon. Discard skin or use in another recipe. Rough chop the baked potato into bite size pieces.
Stir in the half-and-half and add the chopped baked potato to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until thick.
Serve garnished with the shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions.
Servings 0