Place potatoes and onion into a soup pot and set aside.

Over medium heat, combine chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and cream cheese and whisk until smooth. (If you are in a hurry, you can skip this step and just throw everything together in the soup pot and stir to make it smooth as it heats.)

Pour soup mixture in with the potatoes and onion and place the pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Season with black pepper to taste.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

While the soup is simmering, fry up about a half a package of bacon. Crumble and set aside. You can stir the bacon into the soup if you’d like and simmer it all together for flavor, or just crumble the bacon on top of the soup after it has been ladled into bowls.

If you choose peppered bacon, you can skip adding any extra black pepper.

Optional add-ins for a heartier soup include a cup of frozen sweet corn, 1 1/2 cups cooked brown or white rice, or 1 cup frozen peas.

Photo credit goes to www.letajoy.com, who made the soup from my recipe. Thanks, Leta!