Ham and Potato Soup

As Old Man Winter lingers here in Minnesota a tad bit longer, my only rejoice is that I can still make some of those tummy warming meals that just can't be made during the summer. In this case, I can try yet another new recipe.

My husband and I are working close to the same shift right now so that means we *cough* I mean I, have to get creative with our lunch ideas. We both aren't pre-schoolers anymore, which means we can't eat Mac & Cheese every day. Well... have it my way and I would; that or pizza! Sadly, my husband doesn't let me do that (shucks).

With that being said: using some left over ham that I had left over from a previous lunch (pineapple and ham in the crockpot) I decided to use up some red potatoes and the ham. I wanted something quick, easy, and not a lot of ingredients. Oh, and can I just say I love the fact that most of these lunch ideas my husband and I make together. For some reason I love sharing that time together. Yes, disagreements come up on how we should do things (how big to cut the potatoes, how much celery to add, can we add any other veggies, instead of 'this' could we had 'this', etc.), or what we should make- but for some reason if I don't ask him what we should make and just start doing it - it works out much better. Sometimes, we can be quite comical.

Ham & Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

- 3 1/2 Cups Peeled (or un-peeled) diced potatoes
- 1/3 Cup Diced CElery
- 1/3 Finely chopped onion
- 3/4 Cups Cooked Ham
- 3 1/4 Cups Water
- 2 Chicken Bouillon (equals 2 cups of broth)
- 1/2 Teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 Teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
- 5 Tablespoons Butter
- 5 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Milk


DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes). Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook. Stirring constantly until thick (about 1 minute). Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick (4-5 minutes).

3. Stir in the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

*Optional: I also added some dried parsley since no soup is complete without it!

Recipe From: AllRecipes.com