Crockpot Sunday: Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

I am so happy with how this soup turned out. One of my cooking goals for the winter is to create new soup recipes using local, in-season produce. Sundays always feel like the perfect day to have something yummy bubbling in the crockpot. While I love butternut squash soup in restaurants, I could never find a recipe to make at home that I was happy with. Each time I tried a new recipe, I kept feeling like something was missing from the soup, but couldn't put my finger on it. The other day, I was wandering around the grocery store and had an "ah-ha" moment that SWEET POTATOES would be a delicious added ingredient. It got a little interesting when I created the "soupy" part - enjoy! :)

Crockpot Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
- 2 local, organic butternut squash
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 2 cups free range organic chicken broth
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream (we like Royal Crest)
- 2 tbsp grass-fed butter

Peel butternut squash, cut length-wise and scoop out inside. Chop squash into chunks and place into crockpot. Peel sweet potatoes, chop into chunks and place into crockpot. Dice onions and garlic, place into crockpot. Cook on LOW. Once the squash and sweet potatoes have become tender (around 2 hours), remove in sections and puree in food processor (or however you choose. This is my method based on what's available in my kitchen). Return puree mix to crockpot. Add spices (the cloves really add a nice flavor.) Continue to cook on LOW for an additional 5-6 hours.

I ran the entire mixture through the food processor once again since it was still a little too chunky for me.

This is where it gets interesting. A friend adds cream cheese to her recipe and suggested putting that in at the end. I slowly stirred in the chicken broth, heavy cream, butter and cream cheese until I attained the consistency I was looking for, which is reflected in the above measurements.

I don't know if I'll add the cream cheese again the next time, but I was intrigued and had to see how it would turn out. You can even dust a little cinnamon or nutmeg on the top for presentation.

I am so happy with the result and the only way I can describe the taste is that is tastes like a fall harvest. I'm going to freeze most of it so I can enjoy it throughout the winter. A successful crockpot Sunday!