Ham, Broccoli and Cheese Crockpot Chowder #FantasticalFoodFight

Our theme for this month's Fantastical Food Fight is Slow Cooker Soups.  I have been sharing tons of soup recipes this month which is only fitting because January is National Soup Month.  It seems like every blogging group to which I belong has jumped on the bandwagon.  To top things off, I am starting a new group called Soup Saturday Swappers and our first posts are scheduled for this upcoming Saturday....so stay tuned.  You can learn all about Fantastical Food Fight and learn how to join us at this information post.

Today, however, we are doing soups in slow cookers or crockpots.  When Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes  sent out the information on this party, I was pretty excited.  You see, it was the week following Christmas and I had a ton of leftovers that needed using.  Soup is a great way to use up leftovers.

For this soup, I used up some of the ham and broccoli that was left from Christmas dinner as well as the cheese that was left from our cheese platter that was set out before dinner.  It was a very easy soup to throw together and the crockpot did all the work.  We went out and ran some errands.  When we got home the house smelled heavenly and we sat down to a light dinner which was very welcome after all the eating we had been doing.  Even making this soup, we still had enough ham for sandwiches, ham and eggs and No Soak Bean Soup that was also made in the crockpot.  

I adapted this recipe from one found on Return to Simple.  Melissa did not use leftovers for her soup but the recipe adapted very well.  I had a mixture of colby jack, swiss and muenster cheese cubes that I tossed into the food processor and grated up.  You could buy grated cheese of your choice or use whatever cheese you have on hand.

Ham, Broccoli and Cheese Chowder

adapted from Return to Simple

2 c. cooked ham, chopped

2 c. steamed broccoli,  coarsely chopped (you could also use frozen)

half of a small onion, diced

2 c. grated cheese (I used a mixture of colby jack, muenster and swiss)

4 c. chicken broth

dash of nutmeg

1 c. heavy cream

pepper to taste

Place ham, cheese, broccoli, onion, broth and nutmeg into the crock of a slow cooker.  Turn on low and cook 4-6 hrs.  Add the cream, stir to combine. Taste and season with additional pepper, if needed. Print Recipe

More Crockpot Soups

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