Potato and Ham Soup

Once the cold weather sets in, I love to make soups.  It is the ultimate comfort food, especially served with fresh bread or a bread bowl.  There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cold day. =)

6-8 small to medium potatoes, diced
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-2 carrots, chopped
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp.salt
pinch pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. butter
2 c. milk (you can use half and half or cream to make it creamier)
2 c. shredded cheese ( I used Monterrey Jack)
3/4 c. sour cream
1 c. diced ham

Cook the potatoes until just about soft enough to mash.  Strain.  Take half the potatoes and put in a stock pot.  The other half of the potatoes, mash or puree.

While the potatoes are cooking, saute onions, celery and carrots in 3 tbsp. of butter.  This takes about 15 minutes. Once the celery is no longer crunchy, add the other tbsp of butter and mix in flour to make a roux.  If it is runny, add more flour until it is thick.

To the potatoes in the stock pot, add chicken broth, milk, and seasonings.  Sir in pureed potatoes and veggie roux.  Mix thoroughly.  Mix in sour cream, ham, and shredded cheese.  Let it all cook and simmer until heated thoroughly and cheese is melted.  This should take about 30 minutes.

I like this soup because it is nice and creamy.  The pureed potato thickens it up, but doesn't take away any flavor like cornstarch and flour would.  I ran out of milk, but I really, really, really wanted some potato soup.  My son has to drink rice milk so I grabbed some of his milk and used it.  It tasted great! Plus, it made it a bit healthier......not that it really matters considering all the cheese and sour cream.











The kids loved and both of them had 2 bowls of it!  My daughter asked if there were going to be leftovers so she could have some more another day.  I guess this was a hit with the kids =)

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