Vegetarian Buffalo Soup and Moldy Cornbread

I made a yummy Buffalo Chicken Soup a while back. And I've seen recipes for similar soups floating around Pinterest the past few days, so I really wanted to make a batch. But this is one of those weeks where I'm trying hard to use what I've got and not spend too much at the store. Right now that means we're meatless. So, I got creative and I really hit the jackpot. I'm not just saying that. Everyone loved my creation and I made careful mental notes of how I made it just in case I wanted to make it again. Here it is-

Crock Pot Vegetarian Buffalo Soup
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can chicken broth
1/3 cup hot sauce (more or less to taste)
2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled & diced

1 can or about 2 cups black beans
4 oz (half brick) cream cheese
2 T blue cheese dressing

Place tomatoes, sauces, broth and diced sweet potatoes in crock pot. Cook approx 4-5 hours on low or 2-3 on high, till potatoes are tender. Mash the mixture with a potato masher to desired consistency.

Add the beans, cheese and dressing and cook on low for another hour or so, till melty & creamy.

We served ours with shredded cheese and green onions on top. Both my husband and son commented on how spicy it was. Then I look over and my daughter and she's shoveling down with no complaints. She ate two bowls full and that is unusual for her. So, she definitely approves. And when hubby was done, he asked if there was enough leftover to have some in his lunch tomorrow. So he approved as well, even though it contained sweet potatoes (gasp!) and beans (the horror!). All was well disguised in spiciness ;)

And I wanted to make cornbread to go along with it so I googled "Best Cornbread Recipes" and found this one. It immediately spoke to me since deep down I want to be a Hillbilly Housewife AND the bread was made in an iron skillet. I'd never baked in my skillet so I was anxious to try! This was AWESOME cornbread!! Best I ever made. It was so moist and just the right sweetness. But, it was definitely not the best looking cornbread I ever made. That is because I ran out of yellow cornmeal and had to use some blue cornmeal as well. And of course, yellow + blue = green. So when cut up, this cornbread looked like moldy cheese or something that had been growing in the refrigerator for months. That actually made it more fun for the kids to eat. And they both vote that I make it again for St. Patrick's Day!

Here it is in the pan:




And here it is next to the soup:




The only changes I made in the recipe were the cut down on the butter by about 3 tablespoons and instead of buttermilk, I used one cup of milk and half cup of plain non-fat yogurt. It made a pretty big batch so we have some leftover, I've always wanted to try a cornbread salad, so that is on the menu for tomorrow!