Cheesy Vegetable Ham Chowder

There are some meals I'm willing to go the extra mile for, but most days I just want simple, real foods.  This soup is comfort food at its finest and can easily be adjusted to your family's individual taste.  I usually throw in a few more veggies and you could certainly leave the ham out if you wanted a vegetarian version. 

So the next time you're needing some honest, simple, comfort food, whip up a batch of this delicious soup and let your cares just melt away.


Cheesy Vegetable Ham Chowder
Makes six adult size servings.

2 C water
2 C chopped potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour
2 C milk
2 1/2 C shredded cheddar or 10 oz American cheese, torn
15 oz creamed corn
2 C cubed, cooked ham

In a large pan combine water, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.  Bring the water to a full boil, then cover and reduce heat.  Let the veggies simmer for about 10 minutes while you make the cheesy deliciousness.

For the cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour and 1/4 tsp (or more) fresh ground black pepper; add the milk all at once.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly - this is where the magic happens.  You want the milk mixture to get nice and thick, like unset pudding.  That'll give the finished soup a really nice texture.
Add cheese to the milk mixture.  Continue to cook and stir until cheese melts.  Add cheesy mixture to the veggies (don't drain the veggies - you want that liquid) and stir to combine.  Add ham and corn; heat through but don't boil. 

Grind a bit of fresh pepper over each bowlful. 

I like to serve this with baking powder biscuits.  Perfect.

EDIT: I totally forgot to list my source for this recipe (Bad Blogger)!  I found this recipe in my big Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.