Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Ham Soup
Today’s post is brought to you by Hamilton Beach. I received a Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker for review and made some yummy soup. Read on to get the recipe and find out why I love this slow cooker!
When I was growing up my family and I ate dinner together every night. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was really special! My mom made dinner at 6 o’clock every night, we all sat down together and talked about our day. Even as we grew older and had sports practice to attend, or plans with our friends, we still made it home in time for dinner.
When I grew up and started a family of my own, I wanted to make a meal that we could all share at the dinner table just like I did when I was a kid. But I was working full time and making dinner every night was often difficult. I was thankful when I discovered slow cooker meals and couldn’t wait to get started. I made a lot of dishes, some successful and some not. But once we found a few that we liked, we made them part of our weekly dinners.
Today’s recipe is a yummy soup that I made for the first time last year. I love butternut squash, but don’t like it pureed like most soups call for because it reminds me of baby food. This soup has a warm, flavorful broth and the additional of the ham makes it a meal. My kids and husband all love this soup. I like to sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and eat it with some sourdough toast. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we do!
Ingredients:
- 6 c hot water
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 2 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
- 2 c diced ham
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- pepper & salt
- shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
In my 6 quart Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker I add squash, ham, onions and seasonings.
Next, I mix the hot water with the bouillon cubes to make my broth, then pour it into my slow cooker.
Then, I give it a good stir to make sure all of the veggies and ham are mixed up.
Cook the soup on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. If you’re going to be making this soup while you’re at work, or away from home, the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker will automatically change from Cook to Warm once the programmed time is up.
Once the cook time is over all of the veggies should be soft, but not mushy.
I like to sprinkle shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese on top of the soup, if you don’t like cheese this soup tastes great with or without it!
My favorite feature of the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker are the clips on the side that secure a tight seal on the lid. This makes it great for traveling! You can make a dish ahead, snap on the lid then plug in the slow cooker when you get to your party and turn it to warm so that the guest can enjoy your dish during the entire party.
Another great feature of the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker is the meat probe. If you’re cooking a roast, or maybe a chicken you can insert the probe into your meat, set your temperature and then once that temperature is reached the cooker will switch to warm. Isn’t that great!
The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® slow cooker has so many great features – programmable cook time, lid clips, meat probe, even a spot for to hold your spoon on the handle, all of these make it a great asset to your kitchen. Whether you’re cooking while at work, or on the weekend you can spend less time it the kitchen and more time with your family!
