Saturday, December 27, 2014

Ham n Cheese Potato Soup

My, how time does fly! I can't believe how long it has been since my last post!

Anyhow, we had a lovely Christmas along with a lovely ham. So that meant leftovers! I'm proud to announce that I had all of these ingredients on hand, so this is a true 2DG special. Let's get to it...

Peel and chop 5 or 6 medium red potatoes. Put them in a stock pot with 2 cups of boiling water. Cook until tender. Mine only took about 8 to 10 minutes. While that's going on, chop an onion and dice about a cup or two of that yummy leftover ham.

When potatoes are done,  reserve the starchy cooking water. You should have almost a cup left. Add enough water to it to get a cup of water. Put it aside.

Here's the decadent part.
In the now empty stockpot,  melt 2 T bacon fat & 1 T butter.  Saute the onion until it's tender. When it is, add 3 T flour. Stir and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.

Now slooooowly add the reserved potato water, whisking as you go. Put in the cooked potatoes.  Slowly stir in 3 cups of milk. Soup will thicken up as you do this. When all the milk's in, add the diced ham and stir. Now grate in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and a tiny bit of sugar, about half a tsp. Grate in a little fresh nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer on low for about half an hour.  Stir it occasionally.  It will become silky smooth and delicious!

Enjoy!