EASY CHEESY SWEET POTATO SOUP

I am definitely not a good cook. I prefer to eat out, I prefer to order take out and I prefer buying those amazing "ready for the oven" seasoned meat dishes from Costco.  But I am trying to cook and bake a bit more for my family.

Andrew's load at work has been pretty heavy lately so I'm trying to cook dinner at least 3-4 times a week. The rest of the week we usually eat leftovers/order something or Andrew will bring home one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store - thank you Jesus for rotisserie chickens!

For anyone thinking, "why wouldn't you cook, your on maternity leave?" Umm you try cooking with your baby whining at your ankles to be picked up when you have hot food on the stove, or keeping an eye on them as they army crawl through the house managing to find every electrical socket and cord.

When I do cook I rarely come up with dishes on my own because quite frankly I am not that creative. I mostly get ideas from television, cookbooks and online recipes. So naturally, I was watching The Marilyn Denis Show this morning and she had this amazing gal on the show making a sweet potato soup. And I thought, I have most of those ingredients in the house right now! So, I attempted to prep and cook it during Rory's morning nap.

What you'll need:

• 3 tbsp olive oil (I used extra virgin because it was all I had)
• 1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped (I used a white onion because it was all I had...be careful not to carmelize/burn it like I did)
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used 4 garlic cloves because I love garlic)
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes or 3 large ones, peeled and cubed
• 6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used two boxes of the Campbells Chicken broth)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup cooking cream¸
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1/4 cup for garnishing)
• 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• ½ cup chives, finely chopped
• ½ cup natural Greek yogurt or sour cream

How to do it:

1. In a pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. I used extra virgin (the good stuff) because it was all I had. 

2. Next, I chopped a white onion (I didn't have a spanish onion) and celery. What you're supposed to do is pour these ingredients into the pot and let them cook until they soften (6-8 minutes) but naturally I burnt/caramelized them a bit because I was taking pictures and just taking my sweet time. 

3. Next, I added in the chopped garlic and sweet potatoes and let cook for 7 more minutes. 

4. Then, I poured in two boxes of chicken broth/stock and let it all simmer. Then, I reduced the heat and let it cook for 45 minutes/until the sweet potatoes were tender. 

5. I let the soup cool, and luckily we have a hand blender so I blended the soup, (trying not to wear it) until it was a creamy in texture. 

6. I put the pot back on the stove on low heat and I added the cooking/whipping cream and the cheddar cheese until it melted. Then I added a few twists of salt and pepper.

7. You can top this soup however you want I'm assuming, but I just went with the recipe and topped with bacon, chives, sour cream and more cheese.

Enjoy!