Potato Soup on a cold Winter's Day

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes. This soup is so comforting on a cold Winter's day. It's thick and creamy and just plain delicious! I decided to share some photos from my soup making process. The entire recipe with be at the end of this post. Enjoy!

This is one of the many gnomes that I have. For some strange reason, I collect them. I don't know what it is about them, but they are absolutely adorable. It must be the red hat or the white beard!

This one's name is George, and he will be overseeing the soup making process! Let me start off by saying that I always double this recipe. I'm giving you the recipe, but double it. Trust me, the leftovers are unbelievable!

The main ingredients to this soups are potatoes, celery, onion, and diced ham. To make things easier I use a slice of ham steak that you can find near the whole hams at the grocery store. I love Walmart's ham steaks. They are called "Smithfield Boneless Ham Steaks." When a recipe calls for ham I always use these ham steaks from Walmart. They hold up nicely in casseroles and soups.

Here is a photo of my chopped up ingredients. It's so hearty and delicious!

While the ingredients are simmering, I always get the spices and other stuff ready so I'm not scrambling at the last minute! I know that's probably common sense for all you pros out there, but I learned to cook in the last five years and I never knew this before. So I always try to have the next step ready to make things easier.

Here George is looking over the seasonings for the soup and the flour that goes into making the roux.

To make the roux you use butter, flour, and milk. Be very patient with this part of the recipe. You don't want it to burn. So stir ALOT. And over time it will become very very thick and creamy! It can take 4-5 minutes to thicken or possibly longer if you double the recipe like I do.

After it thickens, you pour it into your soup, mix it, your done! And you'll end up with this delicious, thick and creamy soup!

Here's the recipe. Remember I always double this!

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup
3 1/2 cups peeled diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onions

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups of milk

1. Combine potatoes, celery, onions, ham, and water in stock pot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. (I cook it for ten minutes and then start making my roux while it continues to cook another 5 minutes).

Stir in chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

2. In 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 milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, about 4-5 minutes. Remember, be patient. It really will thicken!

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

This is super delicious and tastes just as good if not better when it's leftover! It's perfect for this time of year! Enjoy!