Small Town Healthy Living: Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

Finally. This week has been crazy. I'm feeling much better, by the way, but what a bug that was. I'm guessing it was food poisoning because at least 15 other people got it that were at my aunt and uncle's. I know stomach flu is contagious, but once I was feeling bad I stayed away from people, and didn't even come close to some. Who knows. At least everyone is feeling better (I hope).

Monday was a full day of work, then the first night of volleyball. I really missed playing volleyball, didn't get to last year because I was pregnant. However now that I have a kid, I feel really guilty playing so much because that's time away from him. Something is going to have to give, because I have volleyball Monday and Wednesday, and then teach aerobics Tuesday and Thursday. At least I'm home by 6:30 on aerobics night.

That also leaves little time to blog. Sorry. I did attempt to last night, but Blogger wasn't letting me on, kept coming up with an error message. I finally got my new camera going, so I wanted to show you some pics.

Since I don't have a ton of time this morning, I'm just going to post my yummy new soup recipe that we used to get rid of leftover ham. Much like the cheesy chowder I made a couple weeks ago, this is not a healthy recipe. More of a comfort soup.

Courtesy of Food.com

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 c potatoes, diced (I kept the skin on)
1/3 c celery, diced
1/3 c onion, finely chopped
2 c ham, diced and cooked
3 1/4 c water
2 T chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
5 T butter
5 T flour
2 c milk
2 c shredded cheddar cheese (I used mild and sharp)

Combine potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in stockpot and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken bouillon, salt and pepper. In separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly until thick. Slowly stir in milk so as not to allow lumps to form and all milk is added. Continue to stir until thick (4-5 minutes). Add in cheese and stir until melted. Stir the cheese mixture into the stockpot and cook until heated thoroughly. (It will get thicker as it cools and is reheated)

Such a rich and creamy soup... so good on a cold day. And when you have a ton of ham to use up. I think the only thing I'd do differently is use chicken stock instead of water and bouillon cubes or granules. Those things are pretty nasty, have you ever looked at the ingredients?

Here's a pic of the soup: