Karen's New England Clam Chowder

Description
A Sneaky Kitchen recipe from Karen Danielson. More details at The Sneaky Kitchen

Ingredients

 * 5 cans condensed cream of potato soup (10¾ oz.)
 * 6 cups fat free half-and-half
 * 10 oz. can whole baby clams, undrained
 * 1 tbsp dried minced onion
 * 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes
 * ½ tsp garlic powder
 * ½ tsp seasoned salt
 * hot sauce (to taste)
 * salt (to taste)
 * black pepper (to taste)
 * 2 tbsp butter, melted
 * minced fresh parsley

Directions

 * 1) Heat soup with half-and-half in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
 * 2) Add next 6 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
 * 3) Drizzle butter on top. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with the fresh minced parsley. If the chowder isn't thick enough to suit, you can do one of two things:
 * 4) * stir in instant potato flakes and keep adding and stirring until chowder reaches desired thickness, or,
 * 5) * stir in Wondra flour, a little at a time, and continue adding and stirring until chowder reaches the desired thickness. If thickening with flour, cook an additional 2–3 minutes so no raw flour taste remains.