Monday, January 12, 2009

It's Crockpot Weather: Creamy Sweet Potato Soup


Crockpot Weather is when you’d rather stay home and make soup than do just about anything else. I feel that way a lot this time of year.(Illustration from "Read to Me Now" published by John Martin's Book House, 1937)

The new handlblender that I got for Christmas needed a test run. Here’s an easy recipe that you can do with crockpot, a favorite veg, and a hand blender. I’ve made similar soups with carrots, asparagus, spinach and squash. Today I’m using sweet potatoes.



1) Peel and slice 6 medium sweet potatoes.
2) Add them to the crockpot with about one 6 cups of chicken broth. (Figure about one cup of veg and one cup of broth for each portion you’d like to make.) Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until tender.
3) Puree vegetables, mixing them into the broth with a hand blender. (Or you can puree in batches in a blender.)

4) Add ½ teaspoon of nutmeg and ½ teaspoon of ground cloves, and 2 cups of half and half (for richer soup) or milk and blend again.

5) Cook in the crockpot on high another two hours or so to thicken and slightly reduce soup.

6) Garnish with chopped chives and sour cream (optional).



And now, a crockpot plea: My kids are on an oatmeal strike, suddenly refusing the Quaker packets! I’ve heard rumors of an overnight crockpot oatmeal recipe and am wondering if anyone has tried this? Any other good tasting oatmeal, crockpot or handblender recipes that I should be entertaining?

8 comments:

tut-tut said...

I've heard you can cook steel cut oats in the crockpot, but I haven't heard anything about the rolled oats. I would think they would break down too much.

I like your assured hand, showing that hand blender who's boss!

Anonymous said...

I don't have a crock pot or a hand blender, but your soup looks delish! Are those really sweet potatoes, or are they garnet yams? They look really orange in the pic. Does the recipe work for both? I always wonder if they are interchangeable. It is soup weather, for sure!

Joanne said...

I don't know about an oatmeal recipe, but I'm coming over for dinner. Wow, that looks great. Sadly, I don't have a crock pot so I'll have to dream through these pictures.

Skybridge Studios said...

Here's a Delish Dish:

Amish Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sugar, or less
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
warm milk
fresh fruit and/or brown sugar(optional)

Procedure

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients; mix well.
2. Spread evenly in a greased 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
3. Immediately spoon into bowls; add milk. Top with fruit and/or brown sugar if desired.

Serves 6. Per Serving: Calories 200; Calories from fat 86(43%); Fat 10g; Carbohydrates 23g; Sugar 10g; Fiber 2g; Protein 5g

JGH said...

Tut, that makes sense -- I think I have some of the Irish kind. They're steel cut, right?

Karen, I doublechecked the food coop and our last two deliveries included sweet potatoes- I don't know what variety. I would expect it would work with yams - they are a little drier and less dense, right? If they are stringier, the blender should take care of it.

Joanne, c'mon over. Just don't look at my messy house ;-)

Skybridge, THANK YOU!! This looks like the perfect recipe to lure my kids back into oatmealville.

Avid Reader said...

I cook the McCann's steel cut oats almost all the way, then put them in individual bowls in the fridge, warming them in the microwave as needed.(or you can store them in a alrge bow and reheat them quickly - stovetop) reheating cooks them the rest of the way. I add a little water when re-heating.

Avid Reader said...

sorry...


a large bowl.

tina said...

An icy blast is due here this week and maybe even-gasp-snow! Gotta get my crockpot out for sure....