Potato soup!

The past few weeks have been extremely rainy, with this last week chilling down, so it got me in the mood for some good, wholesome soup. When I think about a good wholesome soup, I think about the heartiness of potatoes and I go to my quick and simple cheesy potato and ham soup. I happened to have the makings for homemade chicken stock, which is the base for this soup, so I had my solution to my soup craving almost immediately. Before I met my hubby I didn't put in the ham, but as I soon learned that I couldn't make dinner without a meat I discovered that the smokey-saltiness of the diced ham went perfectly with this soup. The family loved the addition and it's been a keeper and go to for us for years. Make this the next time you are in the mood for a hearty soup and your family will be sure to ask for when they want to warm up! Oh and it is totally worth it if you can use homemade chicken stock. This was my first time doing that, as I usually have cartons of stock on hand, and all the kids said this was the best it's ever been!

What's cooking in my kitchen this week:
Cheesy potato and ham soup

What you'll need:
8 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
16 oz ham, diced
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6-7 potatoes
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder

How to make it:
First, you need to dice up the potatoes into small cubes.

Put diced potatoes in large pot and pour in chicken stock; this should just cover potatoes. 

Bring to boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are just tender. In small pan, heat milk on low while potatoes are cooking. Once potatoes are tender, pour warm milk into large pot. 

Add diced ham, salt, ground black pepper. onion powder, and garlic powder to pot and stir around. 

Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes. Add cheese, a handful at a time and stir to incorporate into soup. 

Once all the cheese is incorporated and melted it will have a nice cheddar color. 

Serve soup by itself, or with dinner rolls. Enjoy!

Did you know?
On this day in 1943, Sgt. Edward Dzuba received the Legion of Merit award because of his talent to use food scraps in unusual and appetizing recipes.