Have you ever been involved in a food fight? I’m not talking about throwing popcorn back and forth at one another or trying to catch peanuts in your mouth, I’m talking about a full-blown food fight where you need to shower for three days afterward to get the icing out of your hair. I haven’t. The closest I’ve ever come was a grape war, which while extremely fun, did not do wonders for my hair. I swear my red locks were pretty darn crunchy for over a week, no matter how much shampoo and conditioner I used and I’m not going to even begin to talk about the amount of laundry detergent and dishwashing soap that was involved in the day-long cleanup after a truce was finally called. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m willing to participate in a food fight, I just don’t want to be the one that has to clean up afterward. Basically, if you decide you want to go to war with about two hundred blueberry pies or forty gallons of vanilla ice cream, I’m definitely your gal, as long as it takes place at your house and not mine.
This month I’ll be joining the Fantastical Food Fight with this trashed up Southern Virginia inspired sweet potato soup. Each month there is a different theme for the Food Fight and this month’s theme is Slow Cooker Soup. Oddly enough, I shared another soup recipe for Slow-Cooker Spinach & Potato Sweet Curry Soup earlier this week for Crockpot Monday, and later this week I’ll be sharing a recipe for Cozy Winter Sweet Potato & Thyme Soup, which can also be made in a crockpot. So, as you can see there’s more than enough Slow Cooker Soup to go around. One could say there’s almost enough to have a food fight, although throwing hot liquids at one another could get pretty damn messy, not to mention painful. Perhaps if we all wait for a snow day to head out into the freezing winter decked out in some really heavy snow gear and goggles no one will end up with third-degree burns. Who’s in? Fair warning…I throw like a girl, so this could get really messy.
Ingredients:
- 3 Large Sweet Potatoes, Peeled & Cubed
- 6 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Onion
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Coarse Cut Celery Flakes or 1 Stalk of Finely Chopped Celery
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme or the Leaves from 5 Fresh Thyme Springs
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle
- 1 1/2 Cups Finely Diced Ham
- 1 Cup Finely Shredded Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Salted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped
Directions:
- Place all of the ingredients, except for the ham, cheese, and peanuts into a crockpot on low heat for 8 hours.
- In several batches, purée the crockpot contents in a blender until smooth.
- Fry the diced ham in a large skillet over high heat until crispy and browned.
- Top each bowl of soup with crispy ham, shredded cheese, and chopped peanuts before serving.
Suggestions:
- You may need to adjust the salt and pepper to taste in this soup. You can always add seasoning, however, you can’t take it away. Remember that the ham, cheese, and peanuts will also add extra salt.
- Do not overfill your blender or you risk the chance of the lid flying off due to pressure and having hot lava-like soup exploding over your entire kitchen. I always purée hot liquids in small batches and usually only fill the blender half way to err on the side of caution.
Improvements:
- Top the soup with finely chopped scallions or chives before serving.
- Place a dollop of sour cream on top of each bowl of soup or add a 1/2-cup of heavy whipping cream to the soup when you purée it in the blender.
Ingredients:
- 3 Large Sweet Potatoes, Peeled & Cubed
- 6 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Onion
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Coarse Cut Celery Flakes or 1 Stalk of Finely Chopped Celery
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme or the Leaves from 5 Fresh Thyme Springs
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle
- 1 1/2 Cups Finely Diced Ham
- 1 Cup Finely Shredded Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Salted Peanuts, Roughly Chopped
Directions:
- Place all of the ingredients, except for the ham, cheese, and peanuts into a crockpot on low heat for 8 hours.
- In several batches, purée the crockpot contents in a blender until smooth.
- Fry the diced ham in a large skillet over high heat until crispy and browned.
- Top each bowl of soup with crispy ham, shredded cheese, and chopped peanuts before serving.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
For more great slow cooker recipes, make sure to check out Crockpot Monday as well as yesterday’s recipe for Slow-Cooker Spinach & Potato Sweet Curry Soup. If you are another food blogger, please feel free to join this week’s Crockpot Monday Link-Up Party with your own great crockpot recipe.