Creamy Potato Soup

Original source

I made potato soup for dinner last night and figured since I hadn't posted the recipe in a while I'd update the blog with it today. As I did a search for it, nothing came up and I realized I'd never posted it to begin with! It's a great go-to recipe because it contains ingredients that I almost always have in my pantry/freezer/fridge. In fact, I made it last night because I didn't have anything planned for dinner! This comes together really quickly and the most labor-intensive part is peeling and chopping the potatoes. I don't always use meat in my potato soup, but I bought a ham on sale several weeks ago - a terrific value at about $4. I diced it all up, portioned it into bags and popped them in the freezer. I've been using it for soups, calzones, quesadillas, and casseroles. Now THAT was a great buy! You could omit the meat or use bacon or sausage instead.
Creamy Potato Soup

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (1 32 ounce carton)
1 cup milk
2 large baking potatoes (or 3-4 smaller ones), peeled and diced
1 cup diced ham (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan, bring the potatoes and broth to a boil; cook for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (Do NOT drain.)

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, sauté the ham, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in the butter until the onion is tender. Whisk in the flour and allow it to cook until fragrant and it begins to take on color (about 3-4 minutes). Whisk in milk, stirring constantly, along with the broth and potatoes from your other pot. Whisk continually until the soup is smooth (other than the potato chunks!). Stir in cheese. Adjust the seasonings to your taste, and serve.