Crock Pot Potato Soup w/Drop Dumplings

OK.  So.  My grandma makes the best homemade potato soup in the history of the world.  Seriously, Panera has nothing on that old lady.  She spends half the year in California though, so that means I would have to wait until NEXT May, at least, to enjoy a bowl.

Or....

I can make it myself in the crock!!

CROCK POT POTATO SOUP

-One bag of frozen hash browns (I used the southern style, you use whatever you want)

-One Large Can of Chicken Broth (or 3 small)

-1 Block of Cream Cheese

-Half Pint of Heavy Cream

-One Stick of Butter (not pictured, last minute decision)

-Little bit of salt

-Little bit of garlic salt

-Lots of fresh cracked pepper (or already ground pepper if that's all you have)

Throw hash browns, seasonings, chicken stock and butter into crock pot.  Set on high for 4 hours.  Stir every hour or so.  An hour before serving, take mash potato masher and "mash" potatoes to help thicken.  Not completely, leave plenty of potato pieces in tact.  Then add heavy cream and cream cheese.  Put lid back on and resume cooking.  Mix as cream cheese melts.  Add drop dumplings, let simmer for 15 more minutes.  Serve.  

I started by putting the entire bag of hash brown and seasonings into the  crock.

Then poured the can of broth on top of that, mixed.

At this point, I thought of butter.  So.  Butter.

I set my crock to high for 4 hours.  I then went into the living room to play a little World of Warcraft.  As I was sitting there, I started thinking about the drop dumplings she makes every time she makes her potato soup.  Like the soup, I've never made drop dumplings.  Everyone loves them, she hates making them but does, because that's just how she is.  She wants us to be happy.  

It does not stop her from bitching about it the entire time though.  lol

I called my mom to verify how to make them.  Which, was my first mistake.  She told me water and flour.  So, I used water and flour to make them.  

*****IT IS EGG AND FLOUR*****

Mine turned out fine, but after spend an hour at the stove top; that's right, ONE HOUR, making drop dumplings, I called my grandma to let her know I had made them, and would NEVER be making them again, and that is when she informed me to never call my mom for a thing, call her.  lol  So, it's actually EGG AND FLOUR.  Though, as I said, the water and flour turned out fine too.  It prolly helped in making the soup thicker too, according to my grandma.  

So either way, I guess.

DROP DUMPLINGS

-One Cup Of Flour

-1 Large Egg OR 1/2 Water

Mix together and then use a spoon to "drop" small amounts of mixture into rapidly boiling pot of water.  The deeper the pot, the better.  Boil until they float to the top.  Drain in strainer, add to soup.

It makes a lot.  A lot, a lot.  A.  Lot.

But it was ooh so yummy...