Crockpot ham and Potato Soup

[smitty55]

So I get lots of recipes through email and I save the ones that look interesting and I might want to check out in the future, the folder is quite large lol.  In the last couple of months I've signed up for A Southern Soul and get almost daily emails. This one recipe caught my eye right away so I printed it out and made it the next day. I've now made it 3 times in the last couple of months and it's gone over great with family and friends. I mentioned to my daughter early last week that I was making another batch up and before I could finish my sentence she was going yes please, yes please, when can I come over to get some lol. "Soup was sooooooooo goood!!!!!" was the message she sent me on FB. Of course I've dressed it up a bit each time. I just happened to have some frozen smoked pork hocks I did up way back so one of them went in each of the three batches I've done so far. Once the soup was about done I removed them and put the meat back in. I've also added some bacon to each batch along with at least the half pound of ham called for. One batch I fried up all the cubed potatoes and ham in bacon grease before adding to the soup. I've also added at least a tbsp of thyme to each batch. I've also added extra stock on top of the 900ml carton each time that I just made up with the powder, last batch was an extra 2 cups. I add extra onion and chop the carrots and celery somewhat finer, it mixes in better that way. Extra fresh garlic too of course.The recipe isn't completely clear on step 3, I remove a cup of stock and a cup of potatoes from the soup to mash up in a 4 cup measuring cup  and I mix the flour with the half and half before adding it and the sour cream to the mash mix and mixing well before adding back to the pot. At the table I add shredded cheddar and my own smoked paprika to the bowl. The soup turns out great, nice and thick and with bread it's a meal on it's own. It's real thick cold. I use a 6l crockpot and it's at least 3/4 full. Highly recommended and great for feeding a crowd.  Cheers
https://www.asouthernsoul.com/crock-pot-ham-and-potato-soup/