Delicious Potato Soup

I made this soup today for lunch, and it was really yummy! I got a big bag of potatoes free at church, and I love potato soup, but I've never made a good recipe before. I got this one off of allrecipes as one of their top rated soups. It originally was "Delicious Ham and Potato Soup", but I didn't have ham and didn't really want it either. This would be delicious topped with some shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and/or chopped green onions, but I ate it as is and will definitely be making it again very soon. Even all my kids enjoyed the little bit I had them taste.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes (I used 3 medium sized butter golds, and it came to about 4 cups)


• 1/3 cup diced celery


• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I used 1/2 tsp dried minced onion instead)


• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham (optional, I didn't use this, hence why I added more potatoes)


• 3 1/4 cups water


• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules


• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste


• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste


• 5 tablespoons butter (for a healthier version, use only 2 or 3 Tbsp butter or heart healthy spread)


• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour


• 2 cups milk (use fat free or 1% for heart healthy)

Directions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham (optional) and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.


2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and 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.

Hide your veggies: Make sure you finely dice your celery and I even added a finely diced carrot (you could add 1 or 2) to the soup the next time I made it, and I couldn't tell a difference. I liked it b/c it added a little more color and some extra veggies. :-)