Sweet Potato Soup (Vegetable Soup)

Original Recipe
For church I doubled the ingredients below which produced a full crockpot. Next time I will make the recipe listed below which feeds six. I also wanted more spiciness and after adding the spices the recipe called for and tasting it, I shook in more cumin and chili powder and black pepper to taste.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup lentils 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper a pinch of cinnamon 4 cups vegetable stock plain yogurt or sour cream for garnish

Directions:

1.	Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook a few minutes then place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, and apple in the pot. Stir and cook the apples and vegetables about 10 minutes.
2.	Stir the lentils, ginger, spices and vegetable broth into the pot with the apple and vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
3.	Puree 2/3 of the soup in batches until smooth, using a food processor or blender.
4.	Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot with remaining chunky stew. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water or more vegetable stock as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Serve with yogurt or sour cream for garnish.