Recipe #142: Ham and Potato Soup

This isn't a very photogenic recipe, but trust me, this is REALLY good.  I'm not the biggest fan of ham (well, besides Honey Baked Ham of course....) but this was rated so well I had to try it.... quite pleasantly surprised!  I was liberal on the ingredients, which I'll note below.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes  (I used 3 whole potatoes, skin on, diced)
• 1/3 cup diced celery (I used about 3 stalks)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I used closer to a cup...)
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham  (I used two whole ham steaks by Bob Evans, I believe)
• 3 1/4 cups water (I used mostly broth, and added more.  Judge according to how many veggies you have)
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules  (I skipped this because I used broth)
• 1/2 teaspoon 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 to 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 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.