Ham and Potato Soup

You know you want this soup!! It is warm, cozy, fall-time goodness! I have been making a corn chowder for a few years and have kind of gotten sick of it, but I wanted to make some kind of potato soup. When I was looking up recipes, this ham and potato soup had over 5,000 reviews and over 193,000 people had saved it!! That's when you know a recipe is worth trying!!
On Allrecipes.com, I always try to pick recipes that have lots of reviews, a high number of stars (for the rating), and that a lot of people have saved. This sure fit the bill!
You could easily double this recipe, as I did, and we still didn't have leftovers for more than a couple days. It was delicious!! I had guests over the night I served this and they loved it as well! My sister-in-law said it was nice that the base wasn't bacon grease, like the corn chowder we have all been making! I actually made this soup in the afternoon while the kids took their naps, and then stuck it in the crockpot. It kept it warm and as it sat in there (on auto, I didn't cook it anymore), it actually thickened up quite a bit. It's delicious! You need to try it!!

Ham and Potato Soup
Allrecipes.com

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 tsp. ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 Tbs. butter
5 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

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 a 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.

In hindsight, I would use less chicken bouillon and less pepper, or switch from white pepper to black pepper. I really liked mine, but it was a little spicy for the kids, and all that white pepper was a lot.
Once the soup was done, I just grated some cheddar cheese, picked and chopped some scallions from the garden, and fried up some bacon to go with it. Add some yummy bread alongside, and you have yourself an amazing, cozy fall meal!! Take it from me, it will be a hit! And a great meal for entertaining!