#13 Crockpot Ham & Potato soup

This is my second failure. It was partially my fault, partially the toddler hanging onto my legs while I was trying to concentrate, and perhaps, partially the recipes fault. I've cooked this once before and it was good, but this time it wasn't very good. I got about 10 minutes into preparing the food for this before my toddler started crying and wanting to be held and then proceeded to hang onto my legs for dear life.

I rushed through, cutting the veggies into any ol' shape and size. That was problem number one. If you cut veggies into smaller pieces and try to get them into similar sizes they will all cook at the same rate. Number two, (recipes fault) I should have started dissolving my bouillon before I started cutting veggies so it would be ready to go when needed (and my toddler wouldn't need to wait an extra 10+ minutes).  Once I got everything in the crockpot I turned it on high and took my little man to go nap. I was quite relieved thinking after nap I would finish up the recipe and have a nice lunch served. Much to my disappointment, we came out to an UNPLUGGED crockpot. Yep, problem #3. So I plugged it in and fast-forward 3.5 hours and it was finally ready. But when I tried it, most of the veggies were still crunchy as if they were barely cooked at all. So I let it cook longer to soften the veggies, but here comes problem #4, once the milk and sour cream is added, it starts to separate while cooking and turns brown and looks yucky. So I finally had soft veggies, but in a very yucky looking broth. TWELVE cups of unappealing soup. Yes this recipe is large enough to feed a small army, so I recommend cutting it in half if you make it. And let the veggies cook extra before the last step of putting milk and sour cream in. With a few tweaks, and an attention span, this recipe should be a success instead of a failure. Forgive my picture, but this is the truth behind a failed recipe.

Crockpot Ham & Potato Soup (updated version with my tweaks)

• 7 c. diced potatoes (about 4 medium)
• 1 c. diced onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 c. ham, diced
• 5 c. hot water
• Chicken Bullion (1 extra large cube that makes 1 quart broth or 4 small cubes that make 1 cup each)
• 1 c. 2% milk
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Dissolve chicken bullion in 5 cups hot water,
2. Add diced potatoes, onion, carrot, and ham to a crock pot.
3. Add water & bouillon to the crock pot also.
4. Cook on low 7 hours, or high 3 hours. (check to see if veggies are soft, if not cook longer)
5. Add milk and sour cream. Stir and cook an additional 15 minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.