Stealing Safeway's thunder?

Since my children have given up eating sandwiches, I have had to hustle to find alternatives, and soup is one that works well. I often buy the Safeway Select fresh soups, and the baked potato soup has always been a favourite. It's like warmth and comfort in semi-liquid form, and I figure that with a thermos full of that in their lunchboxes, I've done my parently duty (against all the odds, given their current anti-sandwich bent).

The recipe below is my attempt to replicate these tubs of deliciousness myself at home, using one of my favourite kitchen gadgets, the crock-pot. If it weren't for this magic appliance, and my breadmaker, I think we would probably starve around here. The soup isn't exactly like the original, but I like to think that this is at least in part because it might be a tad less sodium-laced and contain fewer chemicals. That's my story anyway, and according to my resident taste-testers (a suspicious and hard-to-please bunch at the best of times) it was "delicious", not a word they throw around lightly.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Serves 8

canola/sunflower oil
12 rashers of bacon, snipped into 1/4" pieces
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cups of stock/broth (made using bouillon cubes to DOUBLE strength)
4 cups water
2 3/4lbs potatoes (peeled weight), peeled and chopped into 3/4" dice
1 TBSP fresh chopped dill, plus a little more for garnish
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup AP/plain flour
4 cups half-and-half (for the Brits out there, use 2 cups cream, 2 cups milk)
2 12oz cans evaporated milk
sliced green/spring onions and shredded cheddar to serve

1. Fry the bacon and onions with some oil in a skillet over a medium high heat, until bacon is evenly brown and onions have softened. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Stir chicken broth, water, potatoes, dill and pepper into slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 hours.
3. In a small bowl, whisk flour with the half-and-half, then add evaporated milk and stir to combine. Stir mixture into soup. Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes before serving, garnished with extra dill, cheese and green onions.