Cheesy Creamy Ham And Potato Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 large ham bone
• 2 1/4 cups potatoes, diced
• 2 medium potatoes, halved
• 2 1/4 cups ham, cubed
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 boil ham bone in 4 cups of water in large covered stock pot for approx 1 hour. (if omitting this step use 4 chicken bouillon or 4 cups chicken broth instead).
• 2 remove ham bone and strain stock to remove any debris.
• 3 boil the 2 med potatoes halved in stock until softened, remove to separate bowl.
• 4 combine 2 1/4 cups diced potatoes, 1 med onion, diced ham, and 3 minced garlic cloves and add to stock. add salt and pepper to taste. cook until potatoes are tender.
• 5 mash 2 halved potatoes with small amount of milk and add to stock (helps to thicken).
• 6 in separate pan, melt butter. add in flour a tablespoon at a time to make a roux or paste. add milk and blend well to make a cream sauce.
• 7 simmer cream sauce for 2 minutes. add cheese and blend well. mixture will be very gooey.
• 8 add cheese blend to soup and gently mix to combine.