I made this yesterday and only have one suggestion.  Instead of mashing the baked potatoes in the skin after they're baked, I would let them cool a bit, and slice them into cubes.  I found out the hard way baked potatoes really don't "mash" all that well, and there were big chunks of peelings in my soup.  I didn't care for it that way, maybe some of you would, however.

Also, I used more than 4 pieces of bacon.  I always cut my bacon packs in half, so they fit into my pans better and cook more evenly.  I think I fried about 10 of the 1/2 pieces and then removed them from the pan before adding the rest of the stuff in the recipe.  It sure had good taste, though.  Excellent and I will be trying this again later on.  Weather is cold here where I am located and will be cold for the next few days, so good for soup!