Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Ham is a rare meal in our house,  and when we have ham, we always end up with tonnes of leftovers.  We all know that I love making soup and have been on a real soup kick this year, but I didn't want to make Ham and Split Pea Soup (not that I don't like it, I just wasn't in the mood.  I wanted a creamy soup...and there is the recipe that I found:

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup (Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups chicken broth

3 1/2 cups potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery, washed and diced
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk

Pour the chicken broth into a stockpot.

Add in the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot and ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook over medium until potatoes are tender.  This will take about 15 minutes (depending on how big your potato pieces are). Add in the salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Slowly stir in milk. Continue to constantly stir over medium-low heat until thick, approximately 5 minutes.

Slowly add the milk mixture into the ham mixture in the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately.

We topped our soup with cheddar and chives.

VERDICT:
Yum.  Just plain yum.  I loved this soup, and ate a lot of it.  This makes a big pot of soup so you will have leftovers.  I am almost looking forward to fall, when on a cool fall day, this soup will be just perfect!