Potato and Ham soup

Its a new year! Happy 2014 everyone!! Do you have and new years resolutions? I would just like to work on getting things more organized around my house and just life haha. So hopefully I will find some ways to include some of that into my little blog here. I feel like just this week my life has changed like crazy, my daughter turned 1 and became a full time walker!!!

This soup is a great way to use the ham I know you have frozen in the freezer from Christmas and are wondering what to do with it!!

What you need
4 yellow chopped potatoes
2 leeks chopped
1/2 of an onion chopped
2-3 celery ribs chopped
2 cups cooked chopped ham
48 oz chicken stock or broth (I use no salt added or low sodium)
1 cup water
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper for taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil


What to do
 First a tip, have you ever cooked with leeks? I actually love them in soups but they are dirty and can be hard to clean. The best way I found is to cut them up and put them in a bowl and fill with water. Once in water move them around seperate them from each other and let them sit and the dirt will fall to the bottom. Remove with your hand gently and put on a paper towel to dry.

In a large soup pot heat oil and add your onion, leeks, celery, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook until your onions are transparent. Add your ham, chicken stock, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Towards the end of the 20 minutes in a separate pan melt your butter and stir in your flour. Cook the flour for about a minute then stir in your milk. Stir until thick, then pour into your large pot of soup warm through and serve with a little bit of cheese on top!