Potato soup!

I am longing for spring. It snowed a bunch over the weekend. And today it rained ice. I'm just ready for warm weather! Until then, soup will continue to dominate my mind.

Potato soup may be my all time favorite soup. There are tons of variations of it out there and I love that it never quite tastes the same every time I make it. Here's what I did this time. You know that Crockpot Ham I posted about? Well, there's a reason I never make ham. There's just too much of it for two people to eat. We even get tired of the leftovers. I'm using "we" here even though I'm pretty sure this only applies to me. My husband could probably have continued eating the ham and been just fine with it. I decided I was finished with it though and took what was left and chopped it up. I would estimate there was about 1 cup chopped when I was finished.

My base for my soup was taken from the Pioneer Woman because she's awesome. I follow it pretty well too, with just a few changes. Here's what I went with this time.

3 large russet potatoes, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 T butter

4 c chicken broth

4 c vegetable broth (use the homemade kind!)

1 c milk

3 T wheat flour

1/2 c milk w/1T melted butter (that's what I use when I'm out of cream!)

1 c chopped ham

salt

pepper

Cajun seasoning

cornstarch dissolved in water

Chop and dice all of your veggies. In a big stockpot melt 2 T of butter. Once melted, add the carrots, celery, and onion and saute about 2-3 minutes. Add in the potatoes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. You can add in your seasonings here. I went really easy on the salt since broth tends to have a high sodium content. Next add in your broths. Let it come to a boil (this may take some time) and then let it cook for another 10 minutes. Mix your cup of milk with your flour. Add it into the soup and stir well. Let it cook another 5 minutes. Pull out your blender and scoop out about 2/3 of whats in the pot. Blend it up and pour it back in. Add the last bit of milk (or cream) and add your ham. Here's where I deviate a lot from Ree, I like thick soup and this was just not thick enough for me. I mixed about 2 T of cornstarch with a little water and added it to the mix to really thicken it up. I let it cook a while longer as well. 

Because of the spiciness of the ham, this soup has a slight kick to it. I love it. I didn't add any cheese, just enjoyed the goodness as is.