Jalapeno Sweet Potato Soup...

Ingredients:

4 lbs sweet potatoes

1 medium onion

3 slices bacon

3 cloves garlic

8 cups chicken broth

1 tsp cumin

1/4 cup pickled, sliced jalapeños (chopped a little)

1 ½ cups half-and-half

sea salt to taste

course ground black pepper to taste

Directions: 

Scrub sweet potatoes, and bake until tender.  Let cool until you can handle them.  Peel and dice (large dice)

Peel and finely chop onion, bacon, and garlic.

In a large soup pot, place bacon, onion and garlic and sauté over medium high heat until onions are translucent.

Add chicken broth.  Cover, bring to a boil.

Stir the sweet potatoes into boiling broth. Lower heat and add the jalapeños, cumin, cilantro, and half-and-half.  Use an immersion blender to smooth out the soup.  (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a potato masher, it will just be a little chunkier.)

Add salt and pepper to taste.  

My notes:  I got the original recipe from Homestead Heritage in Elm Mott, Texas.  They have an amazing cafe.  I have made a few changes to suit our taste, and to make it easier for me. For instance, I much prefer baking the sweet potatoes rather than boiling them as the original recipe called for.  If you let the baked sweet potatoes cool until able to handle, they are so easy to peel, and you have saved washing a pot.   (If you let them cool completely, they are NOT easy to peel.)